I don't know how it happened, but half the year officially is over! Which means that we're half way to end-of-the-year-list time! I know that for a bunch of us, there are few things we love more than lists and mix tapes (I usually make a mix for friends of my year-end list favorites) -- so it makes sense we should do a mid-year check in and see what's topping our Best of 2009 list.
Here's my off-the-cuff list of what albums would vying for Top 10 of 2009 in my book:
- The Thermals - Now We Can See
- Matt & Kim - Grand
- iji - In Celebration
- Lacrosse - Bandages For The Heart
- Stuart Murdoch - God Help The Girl
- No-Fi Soul Rebellion - Oh Please Please Please
- Cage the Elephant - Cage the Elephant
- Tiny Masters Of Today - Skeletons
- Telekinesis - Telekinesis!
- One for the Team - Build A Garden EP
- Throw Me The Statue - Creaturesque
Locally speaking (and to prep for our Readers Best Northwest Releases of 2009 poll) - these folks have also put out stellar releases I've listened to on repeat:
- Coulter - Sent to Coventry
- U.S.E - LOVEWORLD
- The Nightgowns - Sing Something
- Skeletons With Flesh on Them - All The Other Animals
- The Femurs - Ride Together EP
- The Lonely Forest - We Sing The Body Electric!
And rumor has it that these folks will be releasing stuff later this year -- and I bet the albums will be so good they might just knock some of the above off the top 10:
- The Long Winters
- Los Campesinos!
- Northern Portrait
- Pharmacy
- Nana Grizol
- Brown Recluse Sings
Oh yes, it's going to be a very good year - and a brilliant end of year mix tape! And for the record, Stay Flyin's song "The Hottchord is Struck" is my song of the year (download the MP3 here. Listen. Get hooked).
What's on your Best of 2009 {so far} list?
{Thanks for the Hutch photo, Laura Musselman!}
1 josh said on July 2, 2009
current favorites:
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion; Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix; the Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t; Andrew Bird - Noble Beast; Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz!
also very nice:
Loney Dear - Dear John; Handsome Furs - Face Control; the Thermals - Now We Can See; M. Ward -Hold Time
too soon to tell, but promising:
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca; Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer; God Help the Girl - s/t
2 douglas martin said on July 2, 2009
this has been a tough year for me, being as though there are dozens of albums that have been released (and a couple that haven't yet) that i absolutely love, and no less than twenty-five that could easily make my top-ten. here are a few of the ones off the top of my head:
grizzly bear- veckatimest
dirty projectors- bitte orca
(mf) doom- born like this
bill callahan- sometimes, i wish we were an eagle
crocodiles- summer of hate
j dilla- jay stay paid
ducktails- self-titled
gun outfit- dim light
sunset rubdown- dragonslayer
mika miko- we be xuxa
sonic youth- the eternal
kurt vile- god is speaking to you
eat skull- wild and inside
julie dorion- i can wonder what you did with your day
tiny vipers- life on earth
the builders and the butchers- salvation is a deep dark well
TOO MANY.
3 Brickey said on July 2, 2009
The ones that'll last:
The Thermals--Now We Can See--I just about freakout and start dancing on the way to work when several tracks from this album shuffle on through.
Phosphorescent--To Willie--A salve for the beginning of the end of my marriage earlier this year. "Permanently Lonely," "The Party's Over," damn. "What came first, the music or the misery?"
Big Business--Mind the Drift--I don't find this to be that sludgy and keep coming back to it. Hard without shrieking or grumbling.
Hanne Hukkleberg--Blood from a Stone--I liked her last album well enough but this one has several tracks I really like.
Hauschka--Snowflakes and Car Wrecks--Pretty and good for relaxing. Another enjoyable Hauschka release.
Loney Dear--Dear John--Good other than I kick myself for not going to see him open for Andrew Bird.
4 Erik Gonzalez (too lazy to log in) said on July 2, 2009
Hey, yeah, back from beyond.
Anyway:
Albums:
Dinosaur Jr.: Farm
Busdriver: Jhelli Beam
Franz Ferdinand: Tonight
Yeah Yeah Yeah: It's Blitz
Jarvis Cocker: Further Complications
Morrissey: Years of Refusal
Some songs I've listened to too much:
Lonely Island: 'I'm on a Boat'
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse: 'Little Girl'
Jens Lekman/Tracey Thorn: 'Yeah Oh Yeah'
Chairlift: 'Bruises'
The KLF: 'Last Train to Transcentral' (yeah, its not 2009, whatever)
Horrors: '1Z0765750313495629
Albums I've very irritating have been released to the rest of the world but not this backwater country:
Patrick Wolf: The Bachelor
5 John in Ballard said on July 2, 2009
I don't think I have too many surprises in my list. Several have already been said, but what can I say- a good album is a good album.
Grizzly Bear- Vekatimest
Bat for Lashes- Two Suns
Passion Pit- Manners
Camera Obscura- My Maudlin Career
Hotels- Where Hearts Go Broke
Tea Cozies- Hot Probs
Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavilion
Albums I'm looking forward too that will probably also make this list in December (assuming all these bands get around to putting out their new albums by the end of the year):
Menomena
Yeasayer
Built to Spill
LCD Soundsystem
Brickey, Josh: You both menioned Loney, Dear. Where either of you at the Croc show a few months ago? The place seemed half full so I'm pleasantly surprised to see that album popping up on these lists. Anyways, it was a fantastic show and very intimate for the several hundred or so of us that were there.
John
6 Brickey said on July 2, 2009
No I didn't go to that show either (head hung). I was out of going to shows for awhile. Working on changing that this summer.
7 josh said on July 3, 2009
I wasn't at that Loney Dear Croc show either (was out of town, I think), but I saw them open for Andrew Bird at the Moore.
8 imaginary chona said on July 4, 2009
The Nightgowns "Sing Something" is INCREDIBLE and so is the latest White Rabbits release, "It's Frightening".
Also loving:
Art Brut/ Art Brut vs. Satan
John Vanderslice/ Romanian Names
9 bob said on July 5, 2009
oh man, that new thermals album is such a flaming piece of poo. So confused how it could be so liked. I mean the radio singles are decent but have you listened the the album as a whole?....what overproduced green-day-sounding crap. lyrically, its just hilarious. They really peaked with The Body the Blood The Machine...nothing else compares.
10 Ben Funkhouser said on July 6, 2009
I would say that so far my favorite has been "PNW" by SEAHOUSE.
I really thought that "Bitte Orca" was going to be better. It really seemed to lack the charm and weird awesomeness of the previous DP recordings. I would suggest heading over to Daytrotter, and downloading the recordings there, particularly "Fucked For Life." its all live, and totally amazing.
Definetly check SEAHOUSE out though.
11 Robin said on July 6, 2009
Tea Cozies-Hot probs.
bada bing!
12 rockscriber said on July 7, 2009
I normally don't listen to Seattle "rock". A friend though gave me a disc that I find incredible to think isn't more popular. The music is hard to classify, which for me is a great thing as I don't skip tracks.
HISTORY for SALE - self titled EP
http://www.myspace.com/historyforsalemusic
Maybe not on my top 5 list, but they are very, very good.
PS....The Lonely Forest's new disc is good as mentioned. Their live show though is even better.
13 Heather said on July 8, 2009
Imaginary Liz -- Have you heard Still Flyin's song "Aerosmith, Take Me to the Other Side"? I love it, quite summery, too...you can download it free from Amie Street.
http://amiestreet.com/music/still-flyin/never-gonna-touch-the-ground/
As for my fave albums so far:
Animal Collective
Franz Ferdinand
Jets Overhead
John Vanderslice
Like John in Ballard said, I'm very much looking forward to new albums from Menomena and LCD Soundsystem, too. :)
14 ChrisB said on July 8, 2009
Rockscriber - you wouldn't happen to be *in* History for Sale, would you?
15 mark rebellion said on July 8, 2009
NO-FI?!?! whaaaaaa?!?!
thanks imaginary liz!!!
i made it just for you...
16 Erik Gonzalez said on July 8, 2009
Somehow I just noticed that my previous post had my UPS tracking # for my copy of the State DVD instead of the name of the album. Now you all know that I received it.
Anyway, to rectify this, I would highly recommend the Horrors' Primary Colours. Sure, their debut mostly sucked, but this might be one of those Pablo Honey to The Bends transitions. It might also help that Geoff Barrow (of Portishead) and Chris Cunningham helped produce the album too.
So there.
17 imaginary keenan said on July 8, 2009
My favorites this far are totally:
The Thermals - Now We Can See
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - S/T
Casper and the Cookies - Modern Silence
Locals:
Police Teeth - Real Size Monster Series
Connectict Four - Tiger Shark EP
Sandy City - Surfin WA tape
Telekinesis! - S/T
I'm seriously looking forward to:
The new BOAT LP
new Afternoon Naps
18 John in Ballard said on July 8, 2009
ChrisB- I thought the same thing about Rockscriber when I read that.
Heather- While we're both patiently waiting for the new Menomena album, Brent Knopf (Keys, guitar, vocals, guy on the left) has a solo album under the name Ramona Falls that comes out on August 19th. You can listen to a few songs on his myspace page. Worth listening to.
19 Rockscriber said on July 9, 2009
Nope.
On subject: New or waiting for discs to enjoy:
Tiny Vipers
Jeremy Enigk
Damien Jurado (2008 I know)
Isaac Marion's Moon Colony
www.myspace.com/isaacmarionmusic
Barcelona
20 Heather said on July 13, 2009
21 sklein said on August 16, 2009
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