Lisztomania 2009

It's that time of year again where I geek out over all of the "best of the year" lists. This year is particularly exciting because many publications are releasing their "best of the decade" as well. While I understand that it these lists are completely subjective and silly I still really enjoy them. A couple of years ago I started making my own lists. I didn't think much of it the first year and last year I wasn't able to hear everything I wanted to in time. As with years past, my lists are "favorite" not "best" because I haven't heard everything and because the minute I say best I start second guessing myself. This year I heard a ton of music and had an incredibly hard time narrowing down my list. I tried to make a list of music that included different genres and wasn't too predictable... that being said, this is the whitest list ever.

Also, I started back from 25 this time which is great except I noticed that by the time I reached the top 5 I was so tired of writing I rushed through them, oh well. Let me know what you listened to in '09.

25. Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle -- Bill Callahan -- 14 April 2009

The juxtaposition of Callahan's unaffected approach to the vocals and his beautiful musical arrangements demand repeat spins.

Check out: "Jim Cain"

24. Rhett Miller -- Rhett Miller -- 9 June 2009

What you would expect and what I love from the front man of the Old '97s

Check out: "I Need to Know Where I Stand"

23. Gather, Form and Fly -- Megafaun -- 21 July 2009

Rock music disguised as folk.

Check out: "Kaufman's Ballad

22. Songs of Shame -- Woods -- 14 April 2009

There is a level of spontaneity to this lo-fi release that is a nice change of pace for the genre. Just when you think you have a handle on SOS the fourth track smacks you with the ten minute "September With Pete" which elevates the album to 1970s CSNY territory. One thing that can't go unnoticed is Woods cover of "Military Madness." This song is easily my second favorite Graham Nash song (my first being "Simple Man" off the same album). Woods' rendition of the song is just OK (there's not enough passion, when Nash is singing it's almost as if he is pleading) but I love that they covered the song anyway which gets them points in my book.

Check out: "Gypsy Hand"

21. Fork in the Road -- Neil Young -- 7 April 2009

The best concept album about converting a 1959 Continental into a car completely fueled by alternative energy to come out this year.

Check out: "When World's Collide"

20. Two Dancers -- Wild Beasts -- 8 September 2009

UK baroque pop band with 1985 new wave sensibilities. It's Hayden Thorpe's fragile falsetto used as an instrument to create a sense of space that'll get ya.

Check out: "Fun Powder Plot"

19. Hold Time -- M. Ward -- 17 February 2009

More dusty, AM dial treats from Portland, OR. M. is not breaking any new ground on his sixth album but if you dig his previous records you will not be disappointed. Plus Zooey D makes an appearance so it's a must own for me.

Check out: "Jailbird"
18. Real Estate -- Real Estate -- 17 November 2009

The week this album came out we were experiencing record low temperatures in Seattle but the sun was still shining. That's how I explain this New Jersey based psychedelic surf pop band... summer music for the winter.

Check out: "Beach Comber"

17. My Maudlin Career -- Camera Obscura -- 20 April 2009

Fun echo-ey pop out of Glasgow. People who erroneously (or lazily) claim that they don't make pop music anymore like they used to in the 60s need to check out this album. For the unfamiliar Camera Obscura are like the Four Tops meets Belle & Sebastian. Of all the albums on my list this is perhaps the most accessible. The first track "French Navy" is extremely catchy but 1:31 seconds into the second song "The Sweetest Thing" after the throwaway Paul Simon reference you will be hooked... at least I was.

Check out: "The Sweetest Thing"

16. Unmap -- Volcano Choir -- 22 September 2009

Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Collections of Colonies of Bees got together and created one of the most obscure albums of the year. They experimented to the point that almost no two songs on the album sound alike but hey it worked for me. I reviewed this album for my friend's website, if you're curious you can click here for the article.

Check out: "Island, IS"
15. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix -- Phoenix -- 26 May 2009

Whoever first called Phoenix the "French Strokes" hit the nail on the head and I feel that moniker fit until WAP came out. Now it seems that this decade old band doesn't need the comparison to be successful. Phoenix was everywhere in 2009 and it's a testament to how good they are that we are not sick of them already.

Check out (chances are you have): "1901"

14. Keep in Mind Frankenstein -- Grand Archives -- 15 September 2009

This was the album I championed all fall. I listened to it so much that now whenever I listen to it I think of the end of summer and the beginning of Husky football. Last year their debut album made my number three, funny thing is I like this album more. Anyone in the mood for sun soaked-early-'70s-northern California meets rain drenched gray-sky-Seattle? Buy it! I'm sure people are sick of me talking about this one so here is a link to a review I wrote for my friend's site.

Check out: "Dig That Crazy Grave"
13. Actor -- St. Vincent -- 4 May 2009

She is as talented as she is cute. On Actor, St. Vincent blends elements of jazz, electronic, rock, and classical music so much that you have to listen to it a few times to even know what's all going on.

Check out: "The Strangers"

12. Hospice -- The Antlers -- 18 August 2009

Humor me for a moment (I do realize that if you've made it this far on the list you have been humoring me so thanks). I had to watch Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent film "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (anyone seen it?) for a class. The film is completely silent so I decided to provide my own soundtrack for it. I had remembered not being blown away by Hospice but I felt inspired to play it while I watched the film. This film is very haunting and Dreyer focuses almost entirely on close up shots of the actors faces. There are complete scenes where all we see is the troubled Joan's face. The original print for this film was lost and it wasn't until 1981 when a near perfect copy was found in a janitors closet in an insane asylum in Oslo. Somehow Hospice became the perfect eerie companion to this film. I later found out that Hospice is a concept album about a man falling in love with a hospice patient and dealing with her pain and ultimate death. It's not the easiest album to get into but if your in one of "those" moods you should listen to it.
Check out: "Two"

11. Infinite Light -- Lightning Dust -- 4 August 2009

The complete opposite of Black Mountain (their other band).

Check out: "Take it Home"

10. Catacombs -- Cass McCombs -- 1 June 2009

Quiet, dreamy bedroom folk. McCombs is like a modern day Frankie Valli with Elliott Smith sensibilities. Every song is about two minutes longer than it should be but it's in those extra minutes where the song transforms into something strange and great.

Check out: "You Saved My Life"

9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- 3 Feb 2009

I truly don't understand popular music when someone named Ke$ha is #1 on the charts with the song "Party at Some Rich Dude's House", or the charlatans Owl City are the years most popular band and no one I talk to listens to TPOBPAH. There are some bands that I enjoy listening to that I understand why people may not like them. But I have no clue why this band isn't more popular. When will the CW stop playing Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah and Ryan Adams version of Wonderwall during 90210 and Gossip Girl and throw in TPOBPAH "Stay Alive"? If you are a fan of good music from the '80s (think: The Smiths, The Housemartins, My Bloody Valentine) I can't imagine you will not like this band. Plus for some reason this album reminds me of my wife every time I hear it.

Check out: "Stay Alive"

8. Bitte Orca -- Dirty Projectors -- 9 June 2009

Why The Face! Their sound is unclassifiable and that is a good thing. When you listen to this you feel like you are in the middle of their crazy experiment.

Check out: "Two Doves"

7. xx -- The xx -- 17 August 2009

Who says youth is wasted on the young? These guys (and girls) were teenagers when they started recording xx. I am incredibly impressed with how well crafted and thought out this album is. It could be a fluke thing and perhaps I'm giving them too much credit but I have a feeling The xx will be around for a while.

Check out (all of them!): "VCR"

6. Farm -- Dinosaur Jr. -- 23 June 2009

Some say change is a good thing but I find nothing wrong with the fact that with Farm, Dinosaur Jr. sound exactly like they did back in 1993. DJ has long been one of my favorites and I wore this one out in 2009.

Check out: "Friends"

5. Manners -- Passion Pit -- 18 May 2009

Another instance where I can't understand why they are not more popular (not that you have to be popular it just surprises me because their music is very accessible). Passion Pit can make me dance more than any other band this year. Every time I clean my apartment, do the dishes, the one time I cooked, I'm doing the mess around to Manners. And if "Little Secrets" is not a high school drill team classic by the end of this new decade I will be surprised and a little disappointed.

Check out: "Little Secrets" (and when the kids come in singing "higher and higher" think of me doing a fist pump on the bus)

4. Wilco (The Album) -- Wilco -- 30 June 2009

OK, W(TA) isn't the fourth best album of the year but it sure was my fourth favorite of the year. Along with my #3 I waited months for this and thought about it endlessly before it was released. I remember feeling giddy as I opened it and instantly tried to memorize every song. I remember talking constantly on the phone with my friend Tyler going over every facet of the album from the track list to it's producer. (Paul Rudd in "I Love You Man"style.) I can't wait to see my boys in February.

Check out: "Country Disappeared"

3. Working on a Dream -- Bruce Springsteen -- 27 January 2009

This is no surprise to anyone who reads this blog. I have lost any ability to review his albums objectively so I wont try.

Check out: "The Wrestler"

2. Veckatimest -- Grizzly Bear -- 26 May 2009

Ed Droste has the voice of an angel, that needs to be said. Of the bands that are around now I think GB has the potential to be one we will still be talking about in twenty years. People will tell their kids "I remember when Veckatimest came out I listened to it everyday". I will be able to say "I saw them at the Moore back in '09" and my kids will roll their eyes and say "we don't care dad."

Check out: "Two Weeks"

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Animal Collective -- 6 January 2009

What a shocker! Practically everyone picked this album as their #1 of the year and it is that good. There is so much going on here, layers upon layers. The album demands repeat spins. The wall of sound is torn down and allowed endless room to expand.
Check out: "Bluish" or "My Girls"