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My 2009 Favourite Moments

4 Jan 2010, 19:05 by vidanes

This is my summary of what 2009 has meant to me...

- Top 10 Artists

1. Animal Collective
2. Grizzly Bear
3. Leonard Cohen
4. Yo La Tengo
5. Antony and the Johnsons
6. Junior Boys
7. The Flaming Lips
8. Kraftwerk
9. Dirty Projectors
10. Madness

- Top 10 Albums x2

1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion/Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
2. Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care
3. Jeremy Jay – Slow Dance
4. Atlas Sound – Logos
5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
6. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
7. JJ – nº2
8. Nosaj Thing – Drift
9. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
10. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
11. Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
12. Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
13. Joan Miquel Oliver - Bombón Mallorquín
14. The xx – XX
15. YACHT - See Mystery Lights
16. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
17. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
18. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
19. The Field - Yesterday and Today
20. DM Stith – Heavy Ghost

- Top 5 Debuts

1. Discovery – Discovery
2. Passion Pit – Manners
3. Telepathe – Dance Mother
4. The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
5. Tune-Yards – Bird-Brain

- Top 15 Singles/EPs

1. Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP
2. Delorean - Ayrton Senna EP
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than The Stars EP
4. Deradoorian – Mind Raft EP
5. The Radio Dept. – David EP
6. Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Doomsday EP
7. Flying Lotus – L.A. EP 3 X 3
8. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms EP
9. Jeremy Jay – Love Everlasting EP
10. Annie – All Night EP
11. Memory Cassette – Call & Response EP
12. Realpeople – Holland EP
13. Sébastien Tellier – Kilometer
14. The Joy Formidable – A Balloon Called Moaning
15. Massive Attack – Splitting The Atom

- Top 5 Compilations

The Vaselines - Enter…
Various Artists - Warp20
Various Artists - 5 : 5 Years of Hyperdub
Various Artists - Dark Was The Night
Iron & Wine - Around The Well

- Top 15 Songs x2

As featured in my last.fm charts for 2009, one song per artist only…
1. Animal Collective – Summertime Clothes
2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction
3. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
4. Phoenix – 1901
5. Jeremy Jay – We were there
6. Bat for Lashes – Daniel
7. Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is The Move
8. Camera Obscura – Honey In The Sun
9. JJ – Things Will Never Be The Same
10. Passion Pit – The Reeling
11. Junior Boys – Parallel Lines
12. James Yuill – This Sweet Love
13. Atlas Sound – Walkabout (with Noah Lennox)
14. The Big Pink – Velvet
15. Röyksopp – The Girl And The Robot
16. Memory Tapes – Bicycle
17. Joan Miquel Oliver – Dins Un Avió De Paper
18. Discovery – So Insane
19. The Joy Formidable – Austere
20. The Whitest Boy Alive – Courage
21. The Very Best – Warm Heart of Africa (feat. Ezra Koenig)
22. Micachu – Just in Case
23. The Juan Maclean – A New Bot
24. Delorean – Seasun
25. Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer
26. La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream's Let's Get Ravey Remix)
27. Nosaj Thing – Coat Of Arms
28. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele – College Town Boy
29. Fanfarlo – I’m A Pilot
30. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up (D.Lissvik)

And I have equally enjoyed…

1. The Dodos – Fables
2. Here We Go Magic – Fangela
3. Jonathan Johansson – En Hand i Himlen
4. Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern – Pram Town
5. Antony and the Johnsons – Epilepsy is Dancing
6. Casiokids – Fot I Hose
7. The xx – Crystalised
8. Lemonade – Big Weekend (Delorean Remix)
9. Major Lazer – Hold the line (feat. Mr. Lexx & Santigold)
10. Simian Mobile Disco – Bad Blood (feat. Alexis Taylor)
11. Annie – Anthonio
12. Circlesquare – Ten to One
13. Papercuts – Future Primitive (Ruby Suns Remix)
14. Joe Crepúsculo – Ritmo Mágico
15. Dizzee Rascal – Dirtee Cash
16. Joy Orbison – Hyph Mango
17. Pet Shop Boys – Did You See Me Coming?
18. Bear in Heaven – Wholehearted Mess
19. YACHT – The Afterlife
20. Au Revoir Simone – Shadows (Tanlines Remix)
21. La Bien Querida – De Momento Abril
22. Tune-Yards – Sunlight
23. HEALTH – Die Slow
24. Yo La Tengo – All Your Secrets
25. St. Vincent – The Strangers

And 5 singles released in 2009 of albums that will be out in 2010…

1. Hot Chip – One Life Stand
2. Beach House – Norway
3. Vampire Weekend – Cousins
4. Yeasayer – Ambling Alp
5. Delphic – Counterpoint

- Top 5 Disappointments

1. Air – Love 2
2. Maps – Turning The Mind
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart not playing in Ireland
4. Fever Ray not playing in Ireland
5. The xx live at the Electric Picnic – A big part of the audience were not there to enjoy the band and maybe thought everyone else were there for the same reason… That’s what hype does.

- Top 5 Live Acts x2

1. Grizzly Bear + St. Vincent (Vicar Street, Dublin)
2. The Dodos (Sala Becool, Barcelona)
3. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (Primavera Sound, Barcelona)
4. of Montreal + Casiokids (The Button Factory, Dublin)
5. Yo La Tengo (Primavera Sound, Barcelona + Tripod, Dublin)
6. Animal Collective + Dent May (Tripod, Dublin)
7. The Whitest Boy Alive (Electric Picnic, Stradbally)
8. La Roux (Bestival, Isle of Wight)
9. EBONY BONES! (Primavera Sound, Barcelona + Electric Picnic, Stradbally)
10. Micachu and the Shapes (Bestival, Isle of Wight)

- Top 2 Festivals

1. Primavera Sound
2. Bestival

- Top 5 Music Videos

1. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll

3. Fever Ray – When I Grow Up

4. Coldplay – Strawberry Swing

5. Chairlift – Evident Utensil + Bruises

- Top 3 Music DVD's

• Los Planetas – Principios Básicos de Astronomía
• Arcade Fire – Miroir Noir
• Leonard Cohen – Live at The Isle of Wight

- Top 5 Movies

1. Up (Peter Docter & Bob Peterson)
2. Where The Wild Things Are (Spike Jonze)
3. A Serious Man (Ethan & Joel Coen)
4. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
5. Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson)

- Most Admired Artist Band

Yo La Tengo

- Most Detested Artist

Ra Ra, Oh La La, Ga Ga, Blah Blah Blah…

- Most Memorable Media Moment

All the summaries of the Noughties

- Most Detested Media Moment

Obama getting the Peace Nobel Prize!!!

- Top 10 Albums of the Noughties
1. Radiohead – Kid A
2. Panda Bear – Person Pitch
3. The Strokes – Is This It?/Room On Fire
4. Portishead – Third
5. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post-Pavillion
6. M.I.A. – Arular
7. The Magnetic Fields – i
8. Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye
9. Isolée – Rest
10. The Avalanches – Since I Left You

- Top 15 Songs of the Noughties

Too many to be able to choose...

My top song is probably How to Disappear Completely from Kid A.

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Top Albums (Jan 2010)

3 Jan 2010, 18:03 by deemmon

http://covers.nmstudio.pl/

deemmon's top albums (overall) 1. dredg - Catch Without Arms (1045)
2. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium (925)
3. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute (753)
4. The Verve - Urban Hymns (726)
5. U2 - No Line On The Horizon (719)
6. Dark Tranquillity - Fiction (692)
7. Air - Pocket Symphony (684) 8. dredg - El Cielo (651)
9. U2 - Pop (647)
10. U2 - Under A Blood Red Sky (578) 11. Air - Talkie Walkie (564)
12. The Gathering - Home (556)
13. Samsas Traum - Wenn Schwarzer Regen (545)
14. Tiamat - Amanethes (532) 15. The Mars Volta - Amputechture (512)
16. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath (507)
17. Massive Attack - Mezzanine (489)
18. U2 - Achtung Baby (475)
19. Sido - Ich (470) 20. Antimatter - Saviour (458) 21. U2 - Zooropa (446) 22. U2 - War (431) 23. dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (426)
24. U2 - The Joshua Tree (411)
25. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (402)
26. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness (393)
27. As I Lay Dying - An Ocean Between Us (370)
28. Depeche Mode - Playing The Angel (362)
29. Coldplay - X&Y (357)
30. U2 - Popmart Live In Mexico (353)
^{Top albums generator}

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2009 favorites

3 Jan 2010, 06:04 by _nadia

Ive got nothing to do, so lets shuffle my ipod so i can remember what i loved the most on 2009. Sorry if some of these arent particularly from 09; the internet at uni is shit and i hardly ever found the time to get new music,,,anywaysss! here they are, in no particular order, obviously...

001. Ida Maria - I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked
002. Frankmusik - 3 Little Words
003. White Lies - Death
004. La Roux - Quicksand
005. The Black Keys - Strange Times
006. Black Kids - Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover
007. Malcolm Middleton - Fuck It, I Love You
008. The Ting Tings - Be the One
009. Silver Jews - Suffering Jukebox
010. The xx - Islands

011. Suburban Kids With Biblical Names - Funeral Face
012. DeVotchKa - New World
013. Little Joy - Keep Me in Mind
014. Appaloosa - The Day We Fell In Love (Ted & Francis Remix)
015. Florence + the Machine - You Got the Love
016. Miike Snow - Burial (DJ Mehdi Remix)
017. Ghostface Killah - Back Like That (Remix) (Feat Kanye West And Ne-Yo)
018. Kid Cudi - Day 'N' Nite (Crookers Remix)
019. Bon Iver - Skinny Love
020. Coconut Records - West Coast

021. P!nk - Please Don't Leave Me
022. Antony and the Johnsons - Kiss My Name
023. Little Boots - Stuck on Repeat (Fake Blood remix)
024. Jukebox the Ghost - Under My Skin
025. The xx - Teardrops
026. T.I. - Whatever You Like (DiscoTech remix)
027. Noah and the Whale - Shape of My Heart
028. Kaiser Chiefs - Never Miss A Beat
029. Elke - Blue Dream Lover (Broke One Remix)
030. Brotherhood of broken hearts - Together Lonely (DCUP mix)
031. Friendly Fires ft Au Revoir Simone - Paris (Aeroplane Remix)

032. Frankmusik - Better Off As Two
033. The Paper Chase - One Day He Went Out for Milk and Never Came Home
034. The Whitest Boy Alive - Dead End
035. Your Twenties - Caught Wheel
036. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
037. Infadels - Make Mistakes (by The Phonebox Vandels Inc)
038. Frightened Rabbit - The Twist
039. The Duke Spirit - The Step And The Walk
040. The Shins - Girl Sailor

041. The Rakes - Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)
042. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - A Teenager in Love
043. Pony Pony Run Run - Hey You
044. Ladyhawke - Magic
045. We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices
046. disco ruido - Mrs.Love
047. Depeche Mode - Wrong
047. Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls
048. Lady Sovereign - So Human
049. Silversun Pickups - It's Nice To Know You Work Alone
050. Fleet Foxes - Mykonos

051. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Not What You Wanted
052. Neutral Milk Hotel - The King of Carrot Flowers, Pt. 1
053. Islands - Rough Gem
054. Lily Allen - Not Fair
055. The Wave Pictures - If You Leave It Alone
056. Passion Pit - Sleepyhead
057. Au Revoir Simone - Anywhere You Looked
058. Noisettes - Never Forget You
059. La Roux - Bulletproof
060. Lily Allen - Fuck You

061. Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone
062. Chairlift - Bruises
063. The Heavy - Sixteen
064. Bloc Party - One More Chance
065. Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler
066. Slagsmålsklubben - Speedboats
067. Phoenix - Rome
068. Esser - Work it Out
069. Miike Snow - Animal
070. royksopp - The Girl and The Robot

071. The Magnetic Fields - I Think I Need A New Heart
072. Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
073. Animal Collective - Brother Sport
074. La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy
075. Owl City - Fireflies
076. Run Toto Run - Something To Say (Stickboy Remix)
077. Passion Pit - To Kingdom Come
078. Passion Pit - The Reeling
079. Noah and the Whale - Blue Skies (Twelves Remix)
080. The Blacks - Sunday Boys

081. Spoon - The Underdog
082. Metronomy - Not Made For Love
083. Run Toto Run - Sleepyhead
084. MSTRKRFT - Heartbreaker
085. The Sounds - No One Sleeps When I'm Awake
086. Empire of the Sun - Standing On The Shore (Dirty Disco Youth Remix)
087. The Primary Five - So Much To Find
088.Two Door Cinema Club - Do you want it all
089. Late of the Pier - Random Flir
090. Air - Sing Sang Sung

091. Rooney - I'm A Terrible Person
092. Maxïmo Park - The Night I Lost My Head
093. The xx - Crystalised
094. Cut Off Your Hands - Turn Cold
095. The Dodos - Fables
096. Blank Dogs - Blaring Speeches
097. The Classic Crime - The Coldest Heart
098. The Gossip - Love Long Distance (Fake Blood remix)
099. LadyGaGa - Just dance
100. Santogold - Lights Out

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Top 500 artists in 2009

2 Jan 2010, 22:21 by danzero

Once again, here we go:

1. Florence + The Machine, 382 plays
2. Franz Ferdinand, 347 plays
3. Friendly Fires, 337 plays
4. Maxïmo Park, 307 plays
5. Gomez, 292 plays
6. Editors, 281 plays
7. The Killers, 272 plays
8. The xx, 266 plays
9. Röyksopp, 237 plays
10. Depeche Mode, 234 plays
11. Passion Pit, 231 plays
12. Moby, 229 plays
13. James Yuill, 227 plays
14. Little Boots, 225 plays
15. Charlotte Gainsbourg, 223 plays
16. Air, 220 plays
17. Kings of Convenience, 217 plays
18. Miike Snow, 216 plays
19. Tanghetto, 206 plays
20. Noah and the Whale, 199 plays
21. Coralie Clément, 197 plays
22. Fanfarlo, 196 plays
23. The Smashing Pumpkins, 191 plays
23. Diego, 191 plays
25. Radiohead, 188 plays
26. Basement Jaxx, 187 plays
27. Ladyhawke, 183 plays
28. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson, 175 plays
29. Tiësto, 173 plays
30. Sambassadeur, 171 plays
31. The Helio Sequence, 170 plays
32. Those Dancing Days, 164 plays
33. Doves, 159 plays
34. The Beatles, 149 plays
35. Bajofondo, 147 plays
36. M83, 145 plays
36. Music Go Music, 145 plays
38. Holden, 142 plays
39. Kleerup, 141 plays
40. Muse, 137 plays
41. The Hours, 136 plays
41. Simian Mobile Disco, 136 plays
43. U2, 135 plays
43. 009 Sound System, 135 plays
45. The Gossip, 131 plays
46. The Temper Trap, 123 plays
47. The Teenagers, 119 plays
48. The Dodos, 118 plays
49. Keane, 115 plays
50. Dave Matthews Band, 112 plays
51. Office, 111 plays
52. Garbage, 109 plays
52. The Black Ghosts, 109 plays
54. Suede, 108 plays
55. Sleepy Rebels, 106 plays
55. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, 106 plays
55. Fever Ray, 106 plays
58. Fischerspooner, 103 plays
58. Jens Lekman, 103 plays
60. Sigur Rós, 100 plays
60. Van She, 100 plays
62. White Lies, 98 plays
63. Ladytron, 97 plays
63. Girls, 97 plays
65. Acid House Kings, 96 plays
65. Santogold, 96 plays
67. Empire of the Sun, 93 plays
67. Kings of Leon, 93 plays
69. Interpol, 92 plays
70. Wild Beasts, 91 plays
71. The Radio Dept., 89 plays
71. David Bowie, 89 plays
71. Delphic, 89 plays
74. Cut Copy, 87 plays
74. Mando Diao, 87 plays
76. Morrissey, 86 plays
77. The Ting Tings, 85 plays
78. Julian Casablancas, 84 plays
79. Pacific!, 83 plays
80. Dragonette, 81 plays
81. Maps, 80 plays
82. Bat for Lashes, 78 plays
82. Le Sport, 78 plays
82. Loney, Dear, 78 plays
82. Dan Black, 78 plays
86. Neon Neon, 77 plays
87. The Presets, 76 plays
87. Faith No More, 76 plays
89. Moscow Olympics, 74 plays
89. Tortoise, 74 plays
91. Manic Street Preachers, 73 plays
91. Jason Mraz, 73 plays
93. A Camp, 71 plays
94. Shout Out Louds, 69 plays
94. Project:KOMAKINO, 69 plays
96. múm, 67 plays
96. The Smiths, 67 plays
96. Rachael Yamagata, 67 plays
99. The Postmarks, 66 plays
99. South, 66 plays
101. Marina & the Diamonds, 65 plays
102. Midnight Juggernauts, 64 plays
103. Justice, 63 plays
103. Regina Spektor, 63 plays
103. Pnau, 63 plays
106. Live, 62 plays
107. Socialist Leisure Party, 61 plays
108. Hearts of Black Science, 60 plays
108. Leaves, 60 plays
108. Miracle Fortress, 60 plays
108. R.E.M., 60 plays
112. Kent, 59 plays
112. Vitalic, 59 plays
112. Fujiya & Miyagi, 59 plays
115. Stars, 57 plays
115. Bad Lieutenant, 57 plays
115. Taken By Trees, 57 plays
115. Bowerbirds, 57 plays
119. The Bran Flakes, 56 plays
119. St. Vincent, 56 plays
121. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 55 plays
121. Britta Persson, 55 plays
121. Hello Seahorse!, 55 plays
124. Air France, 54 plays
125. Chromeo, 53 plays
125. Stone Temple Pilots, 53 plays
125. Bitter:Sweet, 53 plays
128. Capital Inicial, 52 plays
129. Mew, 51 plays
129. The Bird and the Bee, 51 plays
131. I'm From Barcelona, 50 plays
131. Vive la Fête, 50 plays
131. Copacabana Club, 50 plays
134. JJ, 49 plays
135. School of Seven Bells, 48 plays
135. Au Revoir Simone, 48 plays
135. Coldplay, 48 plays
135. Club 8, 48 plays
135. Yo La Tengo, 48 plays
140. Glasvegas, 47 plays
140. James Newton Howard, 47 plays
140. New Order, 47 plays
143. The Last Shadow Puppets, 44 plays
143. Crystal Castles, 44 plays
143. Colbie Caillat, 44 plays
143. The Whitest Boy Alive, 44 plays
147. Green Day, 42 plays
147. Sondre Lerche, 42 plays
149. Stereophonics, 41 plays
150. Andrew Bird, 40 plays
151. Boat club, 39 plays
152. Charlie Brown Jr., 38 plays
152. Kuryakin, 38 plays
152. The Kills, 38 plays
155. Jesus Jones, 37 plays
155. Alt-Ctrl-Sleep, 37 plays
155. Goldfrapp, 37 plays
155. Asobi Seksu, 37 plays
155. The Field, 37 plays
160. John Zorn, 36 plays
160. Starsailor, 36 plays
162. peixe : avião, 35 plays
162. The Flaming Lips, 35 plays
164. Os Paralamas do Sucesso, 34 plays
165. Atlas Sound, 33 plays
165. Pato Fu, 33 plays
165. Guillemots, 33 plays
165. Peter Bjorn and John, 33 plays
169. Blind Melon, 32 plays
169. CPM 22, 32 plays
171. Blitz, 31 plays
171. Girl Talk, 31 plays
173. Dirty Projectors, 30 plays
174. Jota Quest, 29 plays
174. Skank, 29 plays
174. Soulsavers, 29 plays
174. Brian Eno & John Cale, 29 plays
174. Christophe Willem, 29 plays
174. VV Brown, 29 plays
174. Titãs, 29 plays
181. note., 28 plays
181. Dan Deacon, 28 plays
181. Clint Mansell, 28 plays
181. Mint Royale, 28 plays
185. Hercules and Love Affair, 27 plays
185. Zero 7, 27 plays
185. Fleet Foxes, 27 plays
188. Phoenix, 26 plays
188. Yoko Shimomura, 26 plays
188. Spiritualized, 26 plays
191. Kid Abelha, 25 plays
191. Ira!, 25 plays
191. Madonna, 25 plays
191. Tangongo, 25 plays
191. The New Pornographers, 25 plays
191. Snow Patrol, 25 plays
197. INXS, 24 plays
197. Cut Off Your Hands, 24 plays
199. A Fine Frenzy, 23 plays
199. O Rappa, 23 plays
199. Hot Chip, 23 plays
199. Supertangox, 23 plays
199. Calvin Harris, 23 plays
199. Scott Weiland, 23 plays
199. Cidade Negra, 23 plays
206. Tihuana, 22 plays
206. Eels, 22 plays
206. Placebo, 22 plays
206. MGMT, 22 plays
206. Camille, 22 plays
206. Friska Viljor, 22 plays
212. Boy Kill Boy, 21 plays
212. Jet, 21 plays
212. Black Kids, 21 plays
212. The Duke Spirit, 21 plays
212. Shiny Toy Guns, 21 plays
212. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, 21 plays
212. Overdub Sessions, 21 plays
212. Raul Seixas, 21 plays
212. Legião Urbana, 21 plays
212. The Twilight Sad, 21 plays
212. Lo-Fi-Fnk, 21 plays
223. Metric, 20 plays
223. Nando Reis, 20 plays
225. Portishead, 19 plays
225. Husband & Wife, 19 plays
225. Biquini Cavadão, 19 plays
225. Ultraje a Rigor, 19 plays
225. Jewel, 19 plays
230. Gram, 18 plays
230. Travis, 18 plays
230. Discovery, 18 plays
230. Beirut, 18 plays
230. La Roux, 18 plays
230. Super Furry Animals, 18 plays
230. Clark, 18 plays
237. Little Joy, 17 plays
237. The Decemberists, 17 plays
239. The Cure, 16 plays
239. The Thrills, 16 plays
239. The Knife, 16 plays
239. Cássia Eller, 16 plays
239. Los Hermanos, 16 plays
239. Barão Vermelho, 16 plays
245. Nenhum de Nós, 15 plays
245. Kasabian, 15 plays
245. Fernanda Abreu, 15 plays
245. Cansei de Ser Sexy, 15 plays
245. Maroon 5, 15 plays
245. The Dandy Warhols, 15 plays
245. Lulu Santos, 15 plays
245. Weezer, 15 plays
253. The Magic Numbers, 14 plays
253. Cazuza, 14 plays
253. Neneh Cherry, 14 plays
253. TV on the Radio, 14 plays
253. Other Lives, 14 plays
258. Detonautas, 13 plays
258. Memory Tapes, 13 plays
258. Marisa Monte, 13 plays
258. O Teatro Mágico, 13 plays
258. The Twang, 13 plays
258. She & Him, 13 plays
258. Mission of Burma, 13 plays
258. Little Massive, 13 plays
258. The Envy Corps, 13 plays
258. SAN TELMO LOUNGE, 13 plays
258. Datarock, 13 plays
258. Yira, 13 plays
258. Junior Boys, 13 plays
258. Timbaland, 13 plays
258. Modest Mouse, 13 plays
273. Miss Kittin, 12 plays
273. Raimundos, 12 plays
273. Freedom Dub, 12 plays
273. Federico Aubele, 12 plays
273. State Radio, 12 plays
273. Chico Science & Nação Zumbi, 12 plays
273. Queen & David Bowie, 12 plays
273. Miniature Tigers, 12 plays
273. Ambulance LTD, 12 plays
273. Eddie Vedder, 12 plays
273. Index, 12 plays
284. Ana Carolina, 11 plays
284. Hevia, 11 plays
284. The Fratellis, 11 plays
284. Tokyo Police Club, 11 plays
284. Bob Marley, 11 plays
284. Celda And Sonja, 11 plays
284. Quadra, 11 plays
284. Seoan, 11 plays
284. David Cook, 11 plays
284. Camera Obscura, 11 plays
284. Gui Boratto, 11 plays
284. Frou Frou, 11 plays
284. Ronan, 11 plays
284. The Zutons, 11 plays
298. Tribalistas, 10 plays
298. Planet Hemp, 10 plays
298. Jason Castro, 10 plays
298. Tango Crash, 10 plays
298. The Tough Alliance, 10 plays
298. Final Fantasy, 10 plays
298. Two To Stay, 10 plays
298. Leo Portela, 10 plays
298. Soulwax, 10 plays
298. Tangothic, 10 plays
298. The Hold Steady, 10 plays
298. Tango Tripping Project, 10 plays
298. G-Spliff, 10 plays
298. Pyramiddd, 10 plays
298. Carlos Libedinsky Pres Narcotango, 10 plays
298. Burial, 10 plays
298. Infadels, 10 plays
298. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, 10 plays
316. Natiruts, 9 plays
316. Inner Circle, 9 plays
316. Ludov, 9 plays
316. A.R. Rahman, 9 plays
316. Le Griser, 9 plays
316. Beach House, 9 plays
316. Vanessa Carlton, 9 plays
316. Vanilla Sky, 9 plays
316. Terence Trent D'Arby, 9 plays
316. Strawpeople, 9 plays
316. Wavves, 9 plays
316. Voxtrot, 9 plays
316. Arnaldo Antunes, 9 plays
316. Polvo, 9 plays
330. Marcelo D2, 8 plays
330. Funk Como Le Gusta, 8 plays
330. Sufjan Stevens, 8 plays
330. The Kooks, 8 plays
330. Cachorro Grande, 8 plays
330. Redwood, 8 plays
330. Vampire Weekend, 8 plays
330. The Devil and The Lion, 8 plays
330. The Whip, 8 plays
330. Pitty, 8 plays
330. Lykke Li, 8 plays
330. The Breeders, 8 plays
330. Lisa Miskovsky, 8 plays
330. Nada Surf, 8 plays
330. The Clash, 8 plays
330. We Smoke Fags, 8 plays
330. David Guetta, 8 plays
330. The Cloud Room, 8 plays
330. Greg Weeks, 8 plays
330. Rihanna, 8 plays
330. Robyn, 8 plays
330. Dire Straits, 8 plays
330. Men at Work, 8 plays
330. Mark Mothersbaugh, 8 plays
354. Soul Asylum, 7 plays
354. Studio, 7 plays
354. The Week That Was, 7 plays
354. __MaX__, 7 plays
354. Frejat, 7 plays
354. The Car Is on Fire, 7 plays
354. Surfer Blood, 7 plays
354. Tears for Fears, 7 plays
354. UB40, 7 plays
354. The New Shapes, 7 plays
354. Annie, 7 plays
354. The Invisible, 7 plays
354. The Human League, 7 plays
354. Roxette, 7 plays
354. Arcade Fire, 7 plays
369. Perry Farrell, 6 plays
369. A Place to Bury Strangers, 6 plays
369. Yann Tiersen, 6 plays
369. Ed Motta, 6 plays
369. Djavan, 6 plays
369. Pato Banton, 6 plays
369. Giulia y los Tellarini, 6 plays
369. Kow Otani, 6 plays
369. prds, 6 plays
369. The B-52's, 6 plays
369. Tesla Boy, 6 plays
369. The Police, 6 plays
369. Cyndi Lauper, 6 plays
369. Phil Collins, 6 plays
369. Duran Duran, 6 plays
384. Karen O and the Kids, 5 plays
384. Maskavo, 5 plays
384. Major Lazer, 5 plays
384. Zélia Duncan, 5 plays
384. Yasunori Mitsuda, 5 plays
384. The Verve, 5 plays
384. NX Zero, 5 plays
384. Armandinho, 5 plays
384. Future of the Left, 5 plays
384. Gabriel o Pensador, 5 plays
384. Alcorus, 5 plays
384. Sugar Ray, 5 plays
384. Shaggy, 5 plays
384. Chaka Demus, 5 plays
384. The Automatic, 5 plays
384. Télépopmusik, 5 plays
384. Kristoffer Ragnstam, 5 plays
384. George Michael, 5 plays
384. The Pigeon Detectives, 5 plays
384. Big Mountain, 5 plays
384. Pet Shop Boys, 5 plays
384. The Rakes, 5 plays
384. Midnight Oil, 5 plays
407. Zeca Baleiro, 4 plays
407. Lindstrøm, 4 plays
407. Turin Brakes, 4 plays
407. Maskavo Roots, 4 plays
407. O Surto, 4 plays
407. Cesar Munhoz, 4 plays
407. Dead Fish, 4 plays
407. Smoke City, 4 plays
407. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, 4 plays
407. Lovespirals, 4 plays
407. Papa Winnie, 4 plays
407. Porno for Pyros, 4 plays
407. Paco de Lucía, 4 plays
407. A R Rahman ft. Suzanne, 4 plays
407. A R Rahman ft. Madhumitha, 4 plays
407. A R Rahman ft. Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah & Mahalaxmi Iyer, 4 plays
407. Cara Dillon, 4 plays
407. Temple of the Dog, 4 plays
407. Juan Serrano, 4 plays
407. Aerosmith, 4 plays
407. Wada Kaoru, 4 plays
407. Blondie, 4 plays
407. Prince, 4 plays
407. Oingo Boingo, 4 plays
407. P. Diddy, 4 plays
407. Queen, 4 plays
407. Nando Reis & Os Infernais, 4 plays
434. Tribo De Jah, 3 plays
434. The Mutato Muzika Orchestra, 3 plays
434. Nação Zumbi, 3 plays
434. YACHT, 3 plays
434. HEALTH, 3 plays
434. Paulinho Moska, 3 plays
434. Tim Maia, 3 plays
434. Mundo Livre S/A, 3 plays
434. CatPeople, 3 plays
434. Embassy, 3 plays
434. Envelopes, 3 plays
434. Wang Chung, 3 plays
434. Lenine, 3 plays
434. Eddy Grant, 3 plays
434. Peter Tosh, 3 plays
434. A R Rahman ft. Alka Yagnik & Ila Arun, 3 plays
434. Sonu Nigam, Mahalaxmi Lyer & Alisha Chinoi, 3 plays
434. M.I.A., 3 plays
434. Them Crooked Vultures, 3 plays
434. Juan Quesada, 3 plays
434. A R Rahman ft. Palakkad Sriram & Madhumitha, 3 plays
434. A R Rahman ft. Suzzanne, 3 plays
434. That 1 Guy, 3 plays
434. A R Rahman & M.I.A., 3 plays
434. A R Rahman ft. BlaaZe & Tanvi Shah, 3 plays
434. Eleni Mandell, 3 plays
434. High Places, 3 plays
434. The Stephane Wrembel Trio, 3 plays
434. Emilio de Benito, 3 plays
434. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 3 plays
434. Peter Gabriel, 3 plays
434. Ludwig van Beethoven, 3 plays
434. Alphaville, 3 plays
434. Utada Hikaru, 3 plays
434. Echo & The Bunnymen, 3 plays
434. Billy Idol, 3 plays
434. FreQ Nasty, 3 plays
434. Bon Jovi, 3 plays
434. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, 3 plays
434. Culture Club, 3 plays
434. Ray Parker Jr., 3 plays
475. The Very Best, 2 plays
475. The Velvet Underground, 2 plays
475. David Choi, 2 plays
475. Rei Kondoh, 2 plays
475. PNAU featuring Ladyhawke, 2 plays
475. Jack White & Alicia Keys, 2 plays
475. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, 2 plays
475. Bossa Nova, 2 plays
475. Bossa n´ Roses, 2 plays
475. Flora, 2 plays
475. Dexys Midnight Runners, 2 plays
475. The Buggles, 2 plays
475. Kaiser Chiefs, 2 plays
475. Kate Nash, 2 plays
475. Ramones, 2 plays
475. Delays, 2 plays
475. Mercury Rev, 2 plays
475. Air Formation, 2 plays
475. Elliott Smith, 2 plays
475. Jimmy Cliff, 2 plays
475. Jorge Ben Jor e Tim Maia, 2 plays
475. Planta e Raiz, 2 plays
475. Andru Donalds, 2 plays
475. Alpha Blondy, 2 plays
475. Heavy D. And Boys, 2 plays
475. Counting Crows, 2 plays

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TOP 100 SONGS OF MY 2000'S

2 Jan 2010, 18:16 by SirNeilGlen

My favourite listens of the first decade of the second millenium a.d.

http://open.spotify.com/user/sirneilglen/playlist/2SAY0evILZ5R9hUbrmFoOC

1. Radiohead - Paranoid Android
2. Muse - New Born
3. Elbow - One Day Like This
4. Mew - The Zookeeper's Boy
5. Lemon Jelly - Page One
6. Radiohead - Idioteque
7. Massive Attack - Teardrop
8. Mr Scruff - Get A Move On
9. The Strokes - Reptilia
10. Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
11. The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart
12. Sufjan Stevens - Concerning the UFO sighting near Highland, Illinois
13. Leonard Cohen - The Stranger Song
14. Radiohead - Like Spinning Plates (Live)
15. The Beatles - Help!
16. The Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me
17. Muse - Knights Of Cydonia
18. Sigur Ros - Hoppipola
19. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat
20. The Cure - The Lovecats
21. Ralph Vaughan Williams - Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis
22. Burial - Archangel
23. Portishead - The Rip
24. Keane - The Hamburg Song
25. Mr Scruff - Fish
26. The Beatles - Across The Universe
27. Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Perpetuum Mobile
28. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt.1
29. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
30. Muse - Plugin Baby
31. Regina Spektor - Pavlov's Daughter
32. Mr Scruff - Shanty Town
33. Jem - They
34. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
35. M.I.A. - Pull Up The People
36. Coldplay - Til Kingdom Come
37. Bjork - Triumph Of A Heart
38. Arcade Fire - Intervention
39. Keane - Bedshaped
40. Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek
41. Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
42. Air - Alpha Beta Gaga
43. Pink Floyd - Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)
44. Jean Jacques Perrey & Luke Vibert - Frere Jacques
45. The Beatles - I Want You (She's So Heavy)
46. DeVotchKa - How It Ends
47. Aphex Twin - Flim
48. Moby - Porcelain
49. Nujabes - Aruarian Dance
50. Gonzales - Gogol
51. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells II
52. Julian Casablancas - River Of Brakelights
53. Guiseppe Verdi - Nabucco (Chorus Of The Hebrew Slaves)
54. Ratatat - Mirando
55. Coldplay - Fix You
56. Air - Alone In Kyoto
57. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
58. Leonard Cohen - One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong
59. Daft Punk - Aerodynamic
60. Muse - Invincible
61. ELO - Mr Blue Sky
62. Claude Debussy - Claire De Lune
63. Boards of Canada - Roygbiv
64. Grandaddy - He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot
65. Sigur Ros - Staralfur
66. Phatfish - There Is A Day
67. Elbow - Powder Blue
68. Snow Patrol - How To Be Dead
69. Focus - Hocus Pocus
70. The Prodigy - Out Of Space
71. Edward Elgar - Cello Concerto in E Minor
72. Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
73. Paul Dixon - The Hill
74. Bloc Party - Helicopter
75. The Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
76. Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
77. Basement Jaxx - Plug It In
78. Pixies - Allison
79. Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope)
80. Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
81. Blur - Sweet Song
82. Dan Deacon - Pink Batman
83. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - Pure Imagination
84. The Shins - New Slang
85. David Vandervelde - Son of Gold
86. The Phoenix Foundation - Sea World
87. Hard Knox - Fire Like This
88. The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home
89. The Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
90. The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
91. Joe Hisaishi - One Summer's Day
92. Pet Shop Boys - The Sodom And Gomorrah Show
93. Antonio Vivaldi - Et In Terra Pax
94. Clinic - Family
95. The Stranglers - Waltzinblack
96. Sigur Ros - Untitled 4
97. Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
98. Coldplay - Don't Panic
99. Badly Drawn Boy - Nothing's Going To Change Your Mind
100. The Album Leaf - Over The Pond

SPOTIFY (the one's that they have...obviously not Beatles or Floyd)
http://open.spotify.com/user/sirneilglen/playlist/2SAY0evILZ5R9hUbrmFoOC
if you don't have spotify, please message me and i'll send you an invite before your musical crime is caught by the internet police.

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My Top 50 Favorite Albums Of The Decade 2000-2009

2 Jan 2010, 04:33 by howisya

1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
It's been over nine years. Frankly, I'm all talked out and have been for some time. I didn't even put up a fight when my cousin dismissed it out of hand recently, having only heard it once, years ago. However, anyone reading this has probably heard Kid A already and formed their own opinion long ago, so what more could I add that hasn't been said too many times before?

2. Björk - Vespertine (2001)
It's her idm album, but it's also her songwriting album. Vespertine showed me how glitchy electronics could be warm, but harps, strings, and one of the most gifted and talented singers of all time help make this an immaculate listen. I think this is one of the most underrated albums of the decade and in her vast, impressive discography.

3. Aphex Twin - Drukqs (2001)
Although not a cohesive listen in the traditional sense, to take in Drukqs is to go on a wild ride through the mad genius of Richard D. James. Here, he revisits his classic techno of the early to mid '90s (setting the stage for his return to acid in the mid to late '00s) but aided by every production skill and compositional strength he's developed since then. As if that were not enough, the modern day ambient master let's us hear his beautiful, Erik Satie-inspired piano pieces and a series of avant-garde acoustic workouts and freakouts. Never has one album offered so much and received so little appreciation and understanding in return. No wonder Aphex Twin stopped making albums.

4. Hood - Cold House (2001)
This album will always be dear to me because it helped get me through a difficult time. It also serves as an awesome example of the promotional power of the mp3, as I'd never heard Hood until browsing Audiogalaxy (R.I.P.) when they were a featured artist with three legal downloads from this album. I was quickly taken by Hood's fragile, gorgeous, melancholic sound, and today I own 12 of their discs. In an ideal world, this naturally flowing, genre-blending album would get at least half of the acclaim heaped on Kid A.

5. dead prez - lets get free (2000)
This is quite simply one of if not the most inspiring album I've ever heard. Listening to this gets me charged every time. I may not agree with every unabashed, radical political stance espoused by M-1 and Stic.Man, but how can anyone disagree with messages like Be Healthy and Discipline makes things easier? Besides the raw, jaw-droppingly brilliant, poetically expressed lyrical content, the album is musically amazing. Few emcees have ever sounded this consistently sharp, focused, and hungry, and every beat knocks and sounds beautiful at the same time. The fact that dead prez had an active role in producing the album makes it all the more special.

6. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)
This album is just a lot of fun, even if Dan the Automator's production makes an album set far into the future sound dated. Del tha Funkee Homosapien was seriously in the zone writing and recording this album.

7. A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms (2000)
I don't think it's fair or accurate to call anything above a rock album, so that makes this debut release by Maynard James Keenan's side-project the best rock album of the decade and them the best new rock group, at least for my tastes. I love how their songs completely rock but are full of nuances and subtleties. The arrangements are great, and the production is perfect. Rock needs more of this.

8. Deftones - White Pony (2000)
The production may be a little cold on this album, but it works. The songs rock hard but sound delicate, too. There isn't a bad song on the initial release, which is what I have and is the intended tracklisting.

9. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
If you'd told me any time before 2006 that I'd be putting a singer from *NSYNC and former Mickey Mouse Club member ahead of most of my favorite artists in my top albums of the decade list, I'd have never believed you. Have you listened to this album though? It's incredible. Very rarely do I listen to an album and just envy the music the whole time as if I wish I'd made it, but this is one of those. No longer an industry puppet, Justin grew up (perhaps trying a little too hard in the process) and, with the able assistance of Timbaland and Danja at the height of their pop prowess, created a masterpiece.

10. Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
Rarely do dream combos work out as well in reality as they do in theory, but MF DOOM and Madlib even managed to exceed expectations. It may not be Doom at his deepest or 'Lib at his most experimental, but it's a hell of an album. Here's to the next.

11. Autechre - Confield (2001)
The musical equivalent to every frenetic, weird, crazy thought I've had, this is still the most mindblowing album I've ever heard. I've learned this is also the worst place for newcomers to Autechre to start.

12. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher (2003)
This was one of two discs that served as the road soundtrack to the worst summer of my life (so far!). I loved how catchy, visceral, and busy this album sounded, which was just what I needed. I thought Prefuse was cool from his first album, but a couple tracks aside it was just another glitch-hop album to me, so I didn't have high expectations for this album. I was blown away by the tremendous growth in production, from the sinewy synths to the ambient textures (including vocals) to the assortment of other instruments and growing supporting cast. This album introduced me to the music of Diverse, Dabrye, Daedelus, and Tommy Guerrero, but Prefuse is the star of the show here. At the time it seemed like the perfect melding of hip-hop and IDM, my two favorite genres then (and perhaps still). To this day, I still consider One Word Extinguisher Prefuse's magnum opus.

13. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007/2008)
I had a long history with this album before I ever played it, but it's really not that interesting to recap, especially now. Suffice it to say that I'd heard nearly every song on here in its live incarnation long before the album was released and didn't expect much based on what I found to be second rate material compared to the songs they toured before the release of their three previous albums. I think it speaks to the power of an even, cohesive-sounding album that In Rainbows is as good as it is. In the right order, these songs complement each other flawlessly, and although I find the high points to be higher on Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief and the production of those albums to be more "interesting," this is truly a great, often addictive listen.

14. Saul Williams - Saul Williams (2004)
It was really difficult to rank Saul's three albums from this decade. Even his Rick Rubin-produced debut that sat on the shelf for two or three years before seeing a poorly promoted release is great. The margin between Saul Williams and the next album is paper thin, but I give self-titled the edge because the music, nearly all of it self-produced, seems to fit Saul a little better, which makes sense as some of NiggyTardust! is built on scraps from unreleased Nine Inch Nails material. Regardless, listening to him grow as a musical artist from Amethyst Rock Star to Saul Williams is remarkable. Here are fully fleshed-out, seriously heavy compositions sung more often than spoken or rapped, so it feels more organic than the spoken word over rap-rock and drum and bass debut.

15. Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! (2007/2008)
Saul's rap Ziggy Stardust concept album produced by Trent Reznor hits all the right notes. Even more so than Saul Williams, NiggyTardust! signaled the arrival of a fully matured artist within the realm of music (as opposed to all those other creative arts Saul has mastered or at least dabbled in). Some of it does sound like NIN with another vocalist, but it also sounds global yet completely personal. Obviously the industrial elements from the previous album are pushed even further to the forefront here, but the punk and hip-hop remain intact, and the sonic palate is greatly expanded, including everything from screw to gorgeous, credible ballads. I was down in front for three shows supporting this album, all spectacular.

16. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (2001)
Dark, scary, depressing, and brilliant, I was a little late to Can Ox's unique brand of cerebral street rap, coming to it after falling in love with the production on El-P's Fantastic Damage. The music on The Cold Vein is just as tense if not more so, but the more accessible and adept yet creative and experimental flows and lyrics anchor the album. One of the other biggest disappointments of the decade in music is the revelation of just how unlikely it is that Vast Aire, Vordul Mega, and El-P will ever regroup for a sequel.

17. OutKast - Stankonia (2000)
Even for me, it's easy to take this album for granted because its singles are so deeply ingrained into popular culture and the disc itself is full of so many songs and interludes, but it's important to remember that this is Outkast still at their creative zenith, making it look so easy trading smooth, rapid-paced rhymes and taking influence from all over, something we haven't truly gotten again from them in the decade since. The title for their planned full reunion album, The Hard 10, has taken on a new meaning.

18. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (2007)
Trent Reznor's allegorical, politically dystopian, cyberpunk concept album consists of really catchy songs that formulaically devolve into glorious noise. It loses points for some generic hard rock-isms, but Trent delivers the goods for the most part, making this an exciting listen complete with some career highlights like Vessel and In This Twilight. The remix album is great, too, and you can remix every song on Year Zero with the multitracks posted online and in a DVD-ROM accompanying Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D, further defining the concept of a DIY laptop musician future come reality.

19. N*E*R*D - In Search Of... (2001/2002)
The neptunes at their peak stretched out and created a fun, catchy album with a couple really beautiful heartfelt, serious songs. I had the European and promo release as a download in 2001, but the album didn't really hit me until later in the year when they posted a stream on their official site of what would be released to the U.S. in 2002. I much prefer this live instrumentation version, but that's a debate that has been ongoing among fans ever since.

20. OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
Listening now I remember why I recommended this double album to everybody back then. While Andre 3000 experimented (and I say succeeded admirably) on his disc with singing, Big Boi delivered on what he does best, zany, funky, but street-credible dirty south rap. Between the two discs there are so many winners, yet this appears to be a Diamond-certified album that is actually underrated, at least among hip-hop heads.

21. Common - Like Water for Chocolate (2000)
This is another close call. I don't love this album as much as I did at the beginning of the decade, but I still find it one of the best rap albums I know, and I really do know every song on here very well. This is the album where Common joined up with The Roots Crew and Jay Dee, officially the Soulquarians, and it sounds like the best of all three worlds. It's also the last album where Com wasn't P.C. Note the homophobia on album highlight Dooinit and references to "bitches" peppered throughout the album. Nonetheless, Like Water For Chocolate probably has Common's most tolerable musical love letters to women, especially the breakout single, and still classic, The Light.

22. Common - Electric Circus (2002)
For my tastes, I prefer Electric Circus these days. I give LWFC the edge lyrically, but the weird, beautiful, seriously bumpin' (when's the last time you heard that? ha) electronic/hip-hop/soul music of EC appeals to me more. Despite what some say, I think Com spits hard on this album, too. I feel one of the most regrettable things in this decade in music was Com's audience convincing him that he was too different on this album, that it sucked, that he dressed weird. They got their wish because he's never been the same since, unfortunately.

23. Mogwai - Rock Action (2001)
A lush, beautiful album, and their last where I can remember the music just by the track titles. It is a tad short, but maybe it's just right. It's a bit of a departure not only in length, but also in content, as You Don't Know Jesus is the only song that rocks long and hard (pause?) like so many highlights on their first two studio albums, but I wouldn't trade Sine Wave or 2 Rights Make 1 Wrong.

24. Boards of Canada - Geogaddi (2002)
I love the paranoid effect derived from the obscure vocal samples, sinewy synths, and ambient textures married with insistent drums. The track titles and album artwork only add to the mythos. This freaky, psychedelic album has been imitated but never duplicated.

25. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead (2007)
The hip-hop auteur grew in the many years between proper solo albums into a better emcee and even more formidable producer in the traditional sense, here drafting The Mars Volta, Cat Power, and Trent Reznor in addition to the usual help from his Definitive Jux roster. Every song here hits hard on some level emotionally and musically.

26. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (2005)
Although this wasn't another masterpiece that announced the triumphant return of Trent Reznor, I think this album is underrated. A lot of the quirks on past albums and Year Zero are replaced here by sludgy or jagged guitar riffs and pummeling drums, but it's a great performance.

27. Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2 (2000)
This is a very fun hip-hop album with dope beats and catchy raps. The End.

28. Portishead - Third (2008)
This was my favorite album of 2008. I consider it nearly as good as the first two albums but in a completely different way. With Portishead having spent so much time away from music, no reasonable person could expect them to sound the same as they did before, back when trip-hop was still alive, and I'm glad they didn't try to act like nothing happened, either to their band or the Bristol scene. What they give us instead on Third is their rock album (some may feel more comfortable seeing "kraut" or "psychedelic" prefixed to that, but it's rock nonetheless). The feel is thus different but familiar. Beth Gibbons still sounds fragile, lost, and distraught but resolute, and the music is still heavy and serious, except for the delightful breather on the album, Deep Water, which always reminds me of Steve Martin's The Jerk. The band is in top form, and I am so pleased that more new material is on the way this year.

29. J-Live - All Of The Above (2002)
Perhaps too sincere for some, All Of The Above is nevertheless a tutorial on great hip-hop. J-Live has a sporty flow and clearly has fun kicking nonstop substance and creative concepts over serviceable beats. It's refreshing to hear someone put so much time and effort into his craft.

30. El-P - Fantastic Damage (2002)
This is the second, darker half of the soundtrack to the worst summer of my life and is a natural accompaniment to Prefuse 73's One Word Extinguisher as it, too, is a hybrid of hip-hop boom bap and electronics. This album is harder and uglier, however, in the most beautiful possible way, from the harsh sound of the beats to the subject matter of the songs. Very few albums are this well produced either.

31. Massive Attack - 100th Window (2003)
Nowhere near as good as Mezzanine, nowhere near as bad as many say. The intensity and paranoia here are aided by glitchy, icy electronics. This album is a heavy listen, not meant for dinner parties. My favorites are the songs where 3D sings lead.

32. J Dilla - Donuts (2006)
Despite how easy it plays, this album can be difficult to get a handle on intellectually if you love hip-hop and other music because of the length and treatment of the samples used. Is this technically a megamix? Are these even beats? These were among my first questions when I got into the album. As I listened, new questions arose. Is this Dilla's best album? Is this going to be a new trend in hip-hop? That last question was quickly answered in a resounding yes!, but the rest isn't so clear. I know this reads like the introductory paragraph of the pamphlet handed out at gatherings of the Cult of J Dilla, but just listen to the album. Closely. It has a message it speaks to you, if you listen.

33. Quasimoto - The Further Adventures of Lord Quas (2005)
This album is mad. It's musically all over the place and full of so many ideas it can be hard to keep up. A lot of people don't like the funny voice affected by Madlib as the character Quasimoto, but I love it both musically and conceptually. I think the voice and the Melvin Van Peebles samples fit the music perfectly, too, so much so that I've never wanted to hear the instrumental version of either album.

34. Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)
This is big budget, blockbuster rap in every sense. Jay-Z became a superstar here, but so did Kanye West and Just Blaze. This album has long reached Kid A levels of overdiscussion and overpraise, however.

35. Kanye West - Late Registration (2005)
I've always found this album to be complete and musically masterful. Time has shown this to be the last time Kanye rapped for a whole album with substance and conviction, and although he's grown as a producer and composer since, nothing has sounded this fleshed out (thank Jon Brion).

36. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)
With this following so quickly behind Kid A and consisting of songs recorded at the same time, it's a little too easy to dismiss Amnesiac. I don't advise it, as the highlights on this album are just as good as those on Kid A. I do find the "electronica" to be a little overcooked here, to the point of ruining what was their best new song in their live set in years, I Might Be Wrong, a kink they finally worked out on In Rainbows. The piano, strings, and horns that fill many of the songs here help make them some of Radiohead's finest moments.

37. The Roots - Game Theory (2006)
On their Def Jam debut, The Roots trade their feel-good vibes for sad times and tension, crafting a claustrophobic, dark, gritty masterpiece that stands among their best work.

38. The Roots - Phrenology (2002)
This is the third or fourth Roots album I heard and owned, but it's the first one I learned front to back and still some of their most creative work. I'd love to hear the Black Thought solo album, Masterpiece Theatre, that half of this album was versioned from. As diverse and well-produced as the music is, BT's solid command of the mic and songwriting development arguably make him the high point of the album, the group's first without Malik B sharing mic time (although he is the subject of the experimental album highlight Water).

39. D'Angelo - Voodoo (2000)
If Burial isn't ambient r&b, this is. I've always been attracted to the creeping tones of this album and how pretty melodies, simple but often profound lyrics, and even the funk would cut through the murk. This album is so good I can almost forgive D'Angelo for not releasing another one after.

40. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (2002)
This may have had too many hands in it, but I still find it a highly accomplished work and a rewarding listen. Gab has the same fun but substantive and conceptual lyrical content and dexterous delivery as J-Live but doesn't come across quite as naturally. Still, if you can tolerate a little geekiness and playful corniness in your rap music, this album was the best of its kind in the decade.

41. Hood - Outside Closer (2005)
There really isn't a noticeable dropoff in the quality of the music and lyrics between Cold House and this album. I think that, other than the two singles, the songs here are a little less catchy. If Cold House hinted at any hope for the future, it isn't really found here, as this is a sobering listen, with Closure being perhaps the most emotionally devastating song I've ever heard. This album isn't for everyone, but I find it a very rewarding listen. It's also another album that shows the similarities between jazz and post-rock.

42. Herbert - Bodily Functions (2001)
This album is highly accomplished musically and contains some of the most sophisticated and fully formed songwriting in the electronic music genre. That, in addition to live instrumentation, so much of this album consists of samples actually sourced from the human body is remarkable. Matthew Herbert and his jazz singer wife Dani Siciliano make a wonderful team.

43. Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek) - Train of thought (2000)
I think this is Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek at their individual best, and joining forces they created a classic with serious bars and serious bass. The mournful tone found in many of the songs adds even greater depth and resonance.

44. The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002/2003)
I guess I like this album in the same way other people like The Postal Service, but I find The Notwist's beautiful and quirky brand of "indie electronic" music to have a lot more depth and lasting appeal.

45. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (2000)
This is the shoegaze album of the decade as far as I'm concerned. Every song on here is good if not excellent.

46. Talib Kweli - Quality (2002)
Talib Kweli shocked the underground by releasing his first solo album without any assistance from Hi-Tek and with actually measurable swag. I've always loved this album. The songs are fun and meaningful. It's no mystery why Kwe broke through with this album and Get By in particular.

47. Burial - Untrue (2007)
Judging by my list so far, you'd never know dubstep ever happened, and Burial is probably the least dubstep-sounding artist associated with that movement, which is perhaps why I love him and this album so. Every song here is basically a stolen r&b a cappella over top of ambient music with a percussion set consisting of samples of a wood block, an aerosol can, a gun cock, and bullet shells hitting the floor. Burial's music also sounds like there's a room playing drum and bass and another playing r&b and you're in a room in-between. Or maybe it's just really good ambient uk garage. That's the thing with Burial, he's intriguing and hard to classify.

48. Air - Talkie Walkie (2004)
It's an album full of really pretty, catchy songs, some light, some serious. There's probably more variety in mood and instrumentation on this than any other Air album.

49. Squarepusher - Go Plastic (2001)
It's really good Squarepusher, easily some of his best work, a solid album, and fun to listen to. It hurt to exclude Ultravisitor, as that is a more interesting album, but consistency and cohesiveness made the difference.

50. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
I listened to this album a lot, and you probably did, too.

Personally, I have a hard time taking seriously album recommendations from people who don't put their money where their mouth is (or their key-tappin' fingers, as the case may be). If you're like me, you should know that I bought every single one of these albums.

All questions, comments, and recommendations are welcome. I only delete advertisements.

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15 Tracks remaining 2009

1 Jan 2010, 19:14 by citizien_insane

[kolejność alfabetyczna]

Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes

Calvary Scars II / Aux Out - Deerhunter

Chest Pass - Lackthereof

Colorado - Grizzly Bear

Comfy In Nautica - Panda Bear

Electronic Performers - Air

Feedbackmikro / City Lights - Radian

Higgs Boson - Tides From Nebula

Holvikirkko - Shogun Kunitoki

Living Room - Emeralds

My Girls - Animal Collective

Psychic City - YACHT

Sacred Trickster - Sonic Youth

Sort Of Revolution - Fink

When The Rain Starts - Kyst

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2009 - muzyczne podsumowanie roku

31 Dec 2009, 18:23 by mir40

Ogólniki

To był dobry rok, a na pewno lepszy od poprzedniego. Wydano kilkadziesiąt albumów na naprawdę przyzwoitym poziomie, w tym sporo udanych debiutów. Nie znalazłem wydawnictwa, któremu mógłbym dać maksymalną notę, ale pojawiło się kilka na 4-4,5/5. Niespodzianek było raczej niewiele i w większości były to miłe zaskoczenia. Ponadto w przeciwieństwie do roku ubiegłego nie było wysypu informacji o przesunięciu daty wydania albumu na rok następny.

Rozczarowania i niespodzianki

Nie było tego wiele, ale do rzeczy. Zacznę od tych miłych niespodzianek. Na pewno The Church, którzy wydali swój najlepszy album od 1988 roku, czyli świetnego "Starfish". Miło zaskoczył mnie też Moby, który po ostatnich słabiutkich albumach nareszcie nagrał coś dobrego. Roczarowania? Na pewno "Backspacer" Pearl Jamu, który jest ich zdecydowanie najsłabszym albumem. Następni w kolejności są Air z bardzo przeciętnym "Love 2", Archive z "Controlling Crowds" i Porcupine Tree z "The Incident". Nie porywają także solowe dokonania dwóch Julianów - "Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper" i "Phrazes For The Young"

Najlepsze albumy
20. Piano Magic - Ovations

Po bardzo dobrym "Part-Monster" Piano Magic wydało kolejny bardzo dobry album. Nie porywa tak jak "Low Birth Weight", ale nadal trzyma wysoki poziom. Do Piano Magic miałem zawsze jedno poważniejsze zastrzeżenie - męski wokal (poza kilkoma albumami np. wcześniej wspomnianym "Low Birth Weight"). Tutaj tego zastrzeżenia już nie mam, bo wokalu udzielił gościnnie na większości utworów jeden z najlepszych wokalistów jakiego nosiła Ziemia - Brendan Perry, znany przede wszystkim z legendarnego Dead Can Dance.

19. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

Wbrew temu, co próbują wmówić niektóre serwisy muzyczne nie jest to dzieło wybitne. Bardzo dobre, ale nie wybitne. Psychodeliczny folk, nieco mniej udziwniony niż Animal Collective na wysokim poziomie. Wszystkie piosenki na płycie tworzą spójną całość. Jednak brak tu czegoś, co porwałoby słuchacza.

18. Sonic Youth - The Eternal

Kolejny już album SY. Tym razem powrót do niezależnej wytwórni. W kontekście ostatniego albumu grupy była to dobra decyzja. Album jest równy, dobry. To wszystko, niestety. Mamy doczynienia raczej już z rutyną i fachowością niż już artyzmem "Daydream Nation" albo "EVOL". Nadal mamy instrumentalizm na najwyższym światowym poziomie, dobry wokal, eksperymenty, punkowy wykop, ale to wszystko już nie porywa tak jak robiła to twórczość SY z lat 80. i 90.

17. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

Ten album zdecydowanie odstaje od pozostałych w zestawieniu. Neon Indian to muzyka specyficzna. Kiczowate syntezatory znane z popu lat 80. i taneczność disco połączone i podniesione do n-tej potęgi. Ta muzyka zwyczajnie wprowadza w dobry nastrój i można się przy niej naprawdę dobrze bawić, a poza tym nie traci na oryginalności i walorach artystycznych, co jest niezwykle trudne.

16. Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind

Tak jak każdy album Mono i ten stoi na wysokim poziomie. Całość bardzo spójna i równa ze zdecydowanym jasnym punktem w postaci "Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn". Muzyka ta momentami potrafi porwać i wywołać sporo emocji. Jednak brak tu "tego czegoś", co mają na przykład albumy GY!BE czy Explosions in the Sky. Szkoda.

15. Moby - Wait For Me

Po kilku nieudanych albumach (szczególnie fatalnym "Hotel") Moby nareszcie wydał album na wysokim poziomie. Spokojny i bardzo ambientowy album, ale to wychodzi mu zdecydowanie na plus.

14. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

Gdzie się podziała zadziorność poprzednich płyt YYYs? Tutaj na pewno jej nie ma. To właściwie jedyny zarzut, który można mieć przeciw "It's Blitz!", bo poza tym album jest bardzo dobry. Świetne, chwytliwe i jak zawsze dobrze zaśpiewane utwory. Tym razem jednak gitary musiały ustąpić syntezatorom, ale nie obniżyło to poziomu piosenek.

13. Editors - In This Light And On This Evening

Na szczęście Editors nie poszli drogą Interpolu i nie grają prawie tego samego na każdym albumie. Zmiana stylu jest wyraźna, ale zdecydowanie wyszła na dobrę. Nie ma tutaj już chwytliwych gitarowych utworów jak na "The Back Room", które zostały zastąpione przez elektronikę. Płyta jest niezwykle równa, może nieco aż za równa, bo nie ma żadnego utworu, który jakoś szczególnie mógł oddziaływać na człowieka. Solidnie przede wszystkim.

12. Everything Is Made in China - Automatic Movements

Po średnim "4" nie spodziewałem się po tym zespole niczego specjalnego i podszedłem do "Automatic Movements" sceptycznie, ale byłem bardzo pozytywnie zaskoczony. Płyta jest niezwykle równa i każdy utwór stoi na wysokim poziomie. Może nie jest to najoryginalniejszy album jak na post-rock i daleko mu do klasy choćby Godspeed You! Black Emperor, ale to nadal naprawdę solidna pozycja i w tym roku chyba najlepszy post-rockowy album.

11. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

Jedna z najlepszych płyt pop w ostatnich latach. Interesujące, oryginalne brzmienie oparte na wokalu (niczym za dawnych lat Kate Bush). Wszystko owiane jest jakąś aurą tajemniczości, a muzyka jest niczym czary wyczyniane przez szamankę, czyli Bat for Lashes. Niestety są 2-3 utwory, które w pewnym momencie zwyczajnie nudzą i przez "Two Suns" dopiero na 11. miejscu.

10. Florence + The Machine - Lungs

Najlepsza płyta popowa roku i zarazem jedyny głośniejszy debiut z tego kręgu muzyki, który nie zawiódł. Nie skończyło się jak np. u La Roux i Little Boots na 1-2 dobrych utworach, ale cały album wypełniony jest świetnymi, wpadającymi w ucho utworami. W przeciwieństwie do wydawnictw Timbalanda muzyka nie ma udziwnień (ale taki właśnie ma być pop) i nie jest pusta, sztuczna jak wzdychania Rihanny, Beyonce czy innych.

9. The Church - Untitled #23

Wielki powrót do formy australijskiego zespołu. Zdecydowanie najmocniejsza pozycja w dyskografii The Church (zaraz po "Starfish" oczywiście). Liryczna, romantyczna muzyka w stylu dream popu i łagodniejszego post-punka.

8. Noah and the Whale - The First Days Of Spring

Najpiękniejsza płyta tego roku. Łagodne, folkowe utwory i wszystko owiane melancholijną atmosferą. Już za samo otwarcie w postaci "The First Days of Spring" ten album musiał się znaleźć na tej liście. Kolejne już nie są tak cudowne, ale nadal trzymają bardzo wysoki poziom.

7. The Horrors - Primary Colours

Swoisty hołd złożony shoegaze'owi przez The Horrors. Wszystkie utwory na płycie są naprawdę wysokim i równym poziomie. Muzyka należy do grona najoryginalniejszych w tym roku - znakomite połączenie shoegaze'u (raczej tego brudnego spod znaku pierwszego albumu MBV niż łagodnego, zmysłowego jak u np. Slowdive) z gothic rockiem i post-punkiem niczym z "Pornography" The Cure.

6. Mew - No More Stories / Are Told Today / I'm Sorry / They Washed Away // No More Stories / The World Is Grey / I'm Tired / Let's Wash Away

To już kolejny album duńskiego zespołu i mogą go zdecydowanie zaliczyć do udanych. Na szczęście nie nagrali kolejnej długiej piosenki jak na "And the Glass Handed Kites" i mamy oddzielne utwory. Całość wiele nie odbiega od poprzednich albumów grupy, jest jedynie powolną ewolucją i udoskonaleniem znanego już dream popowego brzmienia.

5. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

W tym roku niezwykle modne stało się nawiązywanie do muzyki shoegaze. Również tym tropem poszli The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Melodyjna, wpadająca w ucho muzyka z okazyjnie pojawiającymi się ścianami dźwięku tworzonymi za pomocą gitar. Co jest tutaj takiego niezwykłego? Nie wiem, ale album wprowadza w jakiś błogi sentymentalny nastrój niczym przyroda młodego Wertera z powieści Goethego.

4. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Płyta roku według Pitchforka (to akurat było pewne jeszcze zanim ten album się ukazał), ale poraz pierwszy zachwyty tego serwisu na płytą Animal Collective nie są przesadzone. Piosenki tutaj są nieco mniej "dziwne" niż na poprzednich albumach zespołu, ale nadal w eksperymentalno-folkowo-popowym stylu, którego słyną. Całość prezentuję się naprawdę dobrze i przede wszystkim oryginalnie (co zawsze było zaletą Animal Collective).

3. Hatifnats - Before It Is Too Late

Nareszcie pojawił się w Polsce młody zespół, który może spokojnie i z dobrym skutkiem rywalizować z zagranicznymi wykonawcami. Najlepszy i jeden z najoryginalniejszych polskich debiutów ostatnich lat. Bardzo charakterystyczny wokal i dobre kompozycje, wyraźnie odwołujące się do shoegaze'owego grania. Oby zespół na kolejnych albumach trzymał tak wysoki poziom jak na "Before It Is Too Late".

2. Isis - Wavering Radiant

Miałem pewnie obawy, co do tego albumu. Czy Isis będzie w stanie po 4 znakomitych albumach nagrać kolejny? Byli. Wyraźnie widać, że zespół ma już swój rozpoznawalny styl i tego się trzyma, ale też nie chce zatrzymać się w rozwoju i każdym kolejnym albumem wnosi do swojej twórczości coś nowego. Także "Wavering Radiant" tak czyni - odświeżone brzmienie gitar i perkusji oraz powrót, po raczej lżejszym "In the Absence of Truth", do nieco cięższego grania z częstym (jak na Isis) growlem.

1. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head

Może będę tego później żałował, ale zdecydowałem, że to właśnie "Exploding Head" jest najlepszym albumem tego roku. Strasznie hałaśliwy, ale mi to nie przeszkadza. Juz po pierwszym utworze na myśl przychodzą My Bloody Valentine, The Jesus and Mary Chain i No Age. Jednak APTBS nikogo nie kopiują, stworzyli własny niepowtarzalny styl ze ścianą gitarowego hałasu wysuniętą na pierwszy plan.

Więcej tutaj: KLIK

Najlepsze polskie albumy
5. Bruno Schulz - Europa Wschodnia

Mam dosyć mieszane uczucia, co do tego albumu. Teksty są dosyć specyficzne i są pod tym względem słabszą wersją Cool Kids of Death. Pod względem muzyki jest już lepiej, sporo dobrych gitarowych piosenek. Ze względu na kilka świetnych utworów warto zwrócić na to wydawnictwo uwagę.

4. Hey - Miłość! Uwaga! Ratunku! Pomocy!

Nowy album Hey można zaliczyć do udanych. Ten, kto oczekuje kolejnego "Fire" albo "Ho!" będzie rozczarowany. Skromny w aranżacjach, raczej liryczny album. Ponadto Nosowska udowadnia, że jest obecnie jedną z najlepszych i najoryginalniejszych polskich wokalistek.

3. George Dorn Screams - O'Malley's Bar

W przeciwieństwie do California Stories Uncovered George Dorn Screams nie zawiedli i nagrali jeden z najciekawszych polskich albumów raczkującego dopiero u nas post-rocka. Duża różnorodność, a zarazem żaden utwór drażniąco nie odstaje od reszty dzięki czemu całość brzmi bardzo spójnie.

2. Saluminesia - Sprzedając pamięć

Może nie jest najbardziej oryginalny album roku, może jest momentami banalny i naiwny w swojej treści, ale nie potrafię odnosić się do niego obiektywnie. Strasznie chwytliwe utwory, świetnie łączące brzmienie w stylu Myslovitz i shoegaze a la Ride.

1. Hatifnats - Before It Is Too Late

Najlepsi inaczej

Teraz czas na tych, którzy popisali się w tym roku, ale z nieco innej strony. Przyznam, że jak usłyszałem nowy album Krzysia Cornella to byłem pewien, że większego g... nie da się zrobić. Wtedy był to mocny kandydat do tytułu największej chałtury w dziejach muzyki. Jednak nasz rodzimy "artysta" udowodnił, że można stworzyć coś "wybitniejszego" (bynajmniej nie była to nawet Agnieszka Chylińska). Oczywiście mam na myśli Jacka Stachurskiego Łaszczoka, znanego ostatnio także jako 444. Żadne słowa nie oddadzą tego jak "wielkie" jest to dzieło. Trzeba posłuchać:

Najlepsze utwory

25. The xx - Crystalised
24. The Big Pink - Crystal Visions
23. Mew - Silas The Magic Car
22. Animal Collective - My Girls
21. Wolfmother - Violence Of The Sun
20. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
19. Phoenix - 1901
18. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms
17. U2 - Fez - Being Born
16. Piano Magic - The Faint Horizon
15. A Place to Bury Strangers - In Your Heart
14. John Frusciante - Unreachable
13. Isis - 20 Minutes / 40 Years
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
11. Saluminesia - Herbata z cytryną
10. Hey - Boję się o nas
9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
8. Steven Wilson - Harmony Korine
7. Mono - Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn
6. Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love
5. Hatifnats - Horses From Shellville
4. The Horrors - Mirror's Image
3. U2 - Cedars Of Lebanon
2. Noah and the Whale - The First Days Of Spring
1. Bat for Lashes - Daniel

Do ewentualnej polemiki zapraszam w komentarzach.

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My Year In Music - 2009

31 Dec 2009, 14:01 by Quicksand227

- Favourite albums:

1. Archive - Controlling Crowds (I-IV)

I didn't expect any album to top Porcupine Tree's new record, but Archive managed to impress me most this year. I first got to know about the band on my last.fm recommendations and by seeing that they'd come to Munich in October. Loving concept records, I knew this could be an interesting album. At first, it didn't impress me that much to be honest.
The album really clicked for me while being on a 4-hour drive through the alps on my way to a five day trip to a glacier with my geography course. Somehow the landscape of the austrian alps matched perfectly with the album's sound - I even started to love the three songs with their rapper Rosko John (I'm usually not very fond of rapping).
I love the album's dense atmopshere created by both weird sound effects and the lyrics. I also never heard a band with four individual vocalists - all of them add so much variety to the sound of Archive.
Even the bonus tracks of the album, especially Killing All Movement, have the same quality of the album tracks.
Part IV, that was released seperately in October, has not really clicked for me yet, but I guess I just need a couple more listens to fully appreciate it, since I absolutely adore the first three parts.

I was lucky to see them perform the first two parts of the record live in Munich. Their live visuals even intensified the listening experience and especially Pollard Berrier stood out as a very charismatic performer.

Controlling Crowds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYVjjrpz-Ds
Collapse/Collide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IGWlPoIjpY

2. Porcupine Tree - The Incident Limited Deluxe Edition

Porcupine Tree's new album was of course the one I was looking forward to most this year. The idea of a 55 minute song-cycle got me very excited and I didn't want to miss the limited deluxe edition since I unfortunately missed the Insurgentes deluxe edition at the end of 2008. This time, I finally managed to order a copy soon enough. Even though I consider myself as a very patient person, waiting for the package to finally arrive was really straining, especially since I forced myself to no listen to any snippet or studio footage beforehand, because I wanted my first listen of the album to be in surround sound.
Both discs are incredibly inspiring: the recurring chord progression in "The Incident", the intuitive use of odd time signatures and the band compositions, where the other band members finally get a chance to shine: Flicker with a beautiful bass line by Colin Edwin (whose solo album Third Vessel narrowly missed my top 10), Bonnie the Cat with it's creative drum beat by Gavin Harrison and Black Dahlia, which was entirely composed by Richard Barbieri.
Listening to the record in 5.1 surround sound with the accompanying book of amazing artwork (done by Lasse Hoile as usual) and lyrics adds very much to the listening experience and absorbed me into it's dark atmosphere.
I also loved their full lenght live performance of The Incident, they managed to deliver it perfectly! I was lucky to see them live twice this year, one time focused on the visuals (once more, genius job by Lasse Hoile) and the second time more on the band performance. In connection with Stick Men opening for them playing King Crimson's Indiscipline amongst others, this second gig was my favourite concert this year.

Take a look at the book of artwork here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28584265@N06/sets/72157622269812675/

3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

John Gourley, the lead singer and guitarist of Portugal. The Man highly recommended this album via their homepage, so I thought I should give it a listen on myspace since I never heard anything by Grizzly Bear so far.
As soon as Two Weeks started, I knew this could be an album for me. Then I discovered the site La Blogotheque - concerts à emporter and the gorgeous performances by them.
I really adore the album because of it's experimental use of uncommom chords while keeping the song structures rather simple (besides using a couple of odd time signatures). I think it's rare that music is catchy and experimental at the same time.
I just found an interesting track-by-track description by the band here.
Their concert in Munich was a highlight of the year, too - I loved the great performance as well as their simple but very beautiful lighting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Y9XETUKmE

Ready, Able (Official Video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Puph1hejMQE

4. Steven Wilson - Insurgentes

As mentioned above, it really was a bummer that I missed the deluxe editon of this album since I really enjoyed Lasse Hoile's artwork and the 18 minute excerpt of the accompanying documentary of the album which highly influenced my own view on packaging and albums as a journey.
At least the digibook release of the album contained a 5.1. surround sound mix, too. I love the way Steven Wilson mixes in surround sound and I doubt this album would be so high on my list if I only had a stereo mix.
I can't describe the intense goosebumps I get by listening to Get All You Deserve in 5.1 - it's such a simple but ingenious idea to start of with a beautifully calm piano ballad and then destroying the beauty with this eerie white noise he came up with.
I love the fact that this record covers basically every musical side of Steven Wilson ranging from Progressive Rock (Harmony Korine), Drone (Get All You Deserve), Trip-Hop mixed with Drone (Abandoner) and Experimental (No Twilight Within the Courts of the Sun) to Ambient (Veneno Para Las Hadas), beautiful piano ballads (Insurgentes) and even Post-Rock elements (Only Child) while still somehow keeping an overall sound that makes the album best when listened to as a whole.

I also really enjoyed participating in the Abandoner Remix competition.

Harmony Korine (Official Video by Lasse Hoile):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BClzBQmZZBc

5. Isis- Wavering Radiant

Isis is a band I discovered a couple of years ago via youtube - I loved the sound of In Fiction but the vocals weren't my cup of tea at that time. After getting into growls a bit more through Opeth last year, I was looking forward to this album and hoping to dig the vocals, too.
The album didn't impress me much at the beginning, the growl parts seemed rather unfitting next to the melodic instrumental parts. But over the year, the album grew on me more and more, I started to really like the complex arrangements of the songs and the overall flow of the record. A couple of days ago, I was completely blown away by the album, so now I can say that it's definately one of my favourite "heavy" records ever!

Their concert in Munich was great, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DACI9vsZpqY

20 Minutes / 40 Years (Official Video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS3NkhjsBf0

6. Arms & Sleepers - Matador

Arms And Sleepers is a band I discovered through Last.fm.
I only bought the album at the beginnnig of this month but it never really left my hi-fi system since then and somehow it ended up being very high on my list.
I love it's calm, even fragile sound - exactly what I needed to guide me through this season. This is just perfect for cold snowy winter evenings, listening through headphones with goosebumps all over your body. Too bad I won't be able to see any of their concerts in Germany next year...

Nice short interview with the band: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRD8_qBot4Y

Download the song [track artist=Arms And Sleepers]The Architekt for free legally here: http://www.pluginmusic.com/freemusic/armsandsleepers

7. Pure Reason Revolution - Amor Vincit Omnia

Here comes another artist that I discovered via Last.fm. The song The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning popped up on my recommendations radio and I instantly fell in love with the band's sound.
I bought their new record only knowing that one song, so I couldn't believe my ears when the intro synth riff of Les Malheurs started.
The album is very different to their first effort, but once you accept that, this album has so much to offer. Regarding the reviews, many people obviously couldn't deal with the industrial and even electronic sound of AVO, but I love when bands decide to make something completly different if they keep the quality on the same level. Combined with their beautifully arranged vocal harmonies, the overall sound of the album as a whole is pretty weird and nothing I've ever heard so far, which is probably also a main reason why I like it so much.

Their live performances of the album are amazing, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hCDv5kWd5E

8. Tortoise - Beacons Of Ancestorship

Tortoise has also been on my last.fm recommendations list for quite some time now, so their new album seemed like the ideal opportunity to finally get into them. Beacons Of Ancestorship really impressed me because of it's unique sound outside of any genre and it's experimental use of both synthesizers and two drums playing simultaneously.
Simple but very creative ideas like the rhythm of Charteroak Foundation (the guitar starts in triads giving the listener the impression the song is in 6/8 - then the drums kick in with a straight 4/4 beat and the whole thing turns around) make the album special for me.
Their concert in Munich this summer was one of my favourites this year, too.
It was very interesting to see how they play these songs live, especially with the two drums in the front of the stage. In addition, they seemed to dig their music very much which I always enjoy seeing. Last but not least their visuals created a very nice mood in connection with the music.

Check out a few live performances here:
http://pitchfork.com/tv/#/episode/2016-tortoise/1

Picture set of the band live:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephanck/sets/72157622086726080/detail/

9. John Frusciante - The Empyrean

Over the last couple of years, I lost basically all of my interest in the Red Hot Chili Peppers and instead discovered that John Frusciante's solo albums were more than just a side project. When the rumours about John leaving RHCP came up which were verified by him only a couple of days later on his web site, stating that his interests changed into "making a different kind of music, alone, and being my own engineer" and that he thinks that "art has never been something done out of a sense of duty", my respect and adoration for him as a musician soared.

Here is an incredibly inspiring interview with him on the album, but also inspiring for life in general - at least for me ;):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lfw7YRpkfY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiSJKfLS75o

10. The Mars Volta - Octahedron

We all know that Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez has raised the standards when it comes to the quanitity of releases a year (he released 6 solo albums this year!), but regardless of that I didn't expect to hear another TMV record so soon after last year's The Bedlam in Goliath.
For this album, Omar decided to limit himself and write a more straight forward album without "adding 97 parts to the song". I really like the outcome, it's very different to the wall of sound of TBIG, it has a more pyschedelic and acoustic sound which adds even more variety to their sound. Of course this album is still very complex and innovative non the less.
It's a shame though that their amazing drummer Thomas Pridgen had to leave the band before the start of their european tour...but at least I could see him in action with them once more at the Southside Festival this summer!

Needless to say that the "simple" songs still kick ass live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra8GIp2a3OI

- Favourite EPs:

- Kaki King - Mexican Teenagers EP

- Oceansize - Home & Minor

- Puscifer - "C" Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) E.P.

- Honourable mentions:

- Oceansize - Feed To Feed
- Long Distance Calling - Avoid The Light
- Colin Edwin - Third Vessel
- Katatonia - Night Is The New Day
- Tim McMillan - 2.13
- Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition
- dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
- Tosca - No Hassle
- Benny Greb - Brass Band
- múm - Sing Along To Songs You Don't Know
- Les Claypool - Of Fungi and Foe
- Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
- Panzerballett - Hart Genossen Von Abba Bis Zappa
- Russian Circles - Geneva
- Sunn O))) - Monoliths and dimensions
- Eels - Hombre Lobo
- De-Phazz - Big

- Disappointments:

- God Is an Astronaut - God Is An Astronaut
- Mono - Hymn To The Immortal Wind

- Not listened enough yet or not at all:

- Air - Love 2
- Baroness - Blue Record
- Ben Harper & The Relentless 7 - White Lies For Dark Times
- Birdpen - On/Off/Safety/Danger
- Emergency Room - The Funky Side Of The Moon
- Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps
- Medeski, Martin and Wood - Radiolarians: The Evolutionary Set
- Pelican - What We All Come To Need
- Stick Men - Stick Men
- St. Vincent - Actor
- Tingvall Trio - Vattensaga
- The Cat Empire - Live On Earth
- The Flaming Lips - Embyonic
- Tord Gustavsen Ensemble - Restored, Returned
- The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead
- Zero 7 - Yeah Ghost

- Favourite album covers:

- Riverside - Anno Domini High Definition:

- The Mars Volta - Octahedron:

- Favourite packaging:

- Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps Special Edition:

This deluxe edition was just too lovely to miss. Besides the album itself and the additional All Animals EP, the package contains the amazing Riceboy Sleeps book of artwork by Jónsi & Alex, a badge and on top of it, a coloring book and a set of pencils.

You can get an impression here:
Riceboy Sleeps Book
Coloring Book

- Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist:

Regarding the artwork, Portugal. The Man really came up with something unique for this record. As shown in the picture above, the artwork can be transformed in various ways in order to create new variations.
For me, this album is a perfect example of a nice package while keeping a reasonable and affordable price.

- Porcupine Tree - The Incident Limited Deluxe Edition:

This one, instead, is a perfect example of a really lavish package.
The deluxe edition of The Incident contains the album on 2 CDs, a 5.1 surround mix of the album on the DVD, a softcover book of pretty weird drawings by Hajo Müller and a very big hardcover book with extensive artwork and the lyrics all housed in a nice solid slipcase.

- Favourite concerts:

- 1. Porcupine Tree & Stick Men, Munich, Tonhalle
- 2. Archive & Birdpen, Munich, Backstage
- 3. Tim McMillan Band, Munich, Ars Musica
- 4. Grizzly Bear & St. Vincent, Munich, Theaterfabrik
- 5. Tortoise, Munich, Ampere
- 6. Nine Inch Nails, Southside Festival
- 7. Blackfield, Munich, Ampere
- 8. Zappa Plays Zappa, Munich, Theaterfabrik
- 9. Maceo Parker / Tower of Power, Munich, Muffathalle
- 10. The Twilight Sad, Munich, Atomic Café / Pure Reason Revolution,
Munich, 59:1 / Isis, Munich, Hansa 39

- special place for the Sunn O))) concert in
Munich, Hansa 39 – incredible experience (((((O)))))

- Discoveries:

Archive, Grizzly Bear, Isis, Tortoise, Long Distance Calling, Leech,
Pure Reason Revolution, Katatonia, Tim McMillan, Stebmo, Riverside,
Paatos, Tosca, múm, Earth, dredg, Russian Circles, Pelican,
Mike Dillon's Go-Go Jungle, Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet, Fleet Foxes,
Buckethead, Calexico, Sunn O))), Nneka, Chris Gall Trio, Benny Greb,
Tord Gustavsen Trio, Tord Gustavsen Ensemble, God Is an Astronaut,
Richard Barbieri, Colin Edwin, Stick Men, Ulver, Battles, Arms and Sleepers

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Favorite albums from 2009

31 Dec 2009, 05:29 by ssuyk

Mum Smokes - Easy/House Music (Gypsy Joker)
The Ancients - The Ancients (Luddite Folk)
Kellies - Kalimera (World of Freedom)
Love of Diagrams - Nowhere Forever (Forever)
Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career (French navy)
Darren Sylvester - Darren Sylvester (That's a nice haircut)
Papercuts - You Can Have What You Want (Once we walked in the sunlight)
Jeremy Jay - Slow Dance (Will you dance with me)
The Clean - Mister Pop (Loog)
Royalchord - The Good Fight (The good times)
Crayon Fields - All The Pleasures Of The World (Graceless)
Sonny & The Sunsets - Tomorrow is Alright (Stranded)
The Vera Violets - The Vera Violets (Dreams of Zena)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (Heaven Can Wait)
Lawrence Arabia - Chant Darling (Look like a fool)
Richard Swift - The Atlantic Ocean (The first time)
The Soundcarriers - Harmonium (Cannonball)
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs (If It's True)
Bardo Pond - Peri (Chicken gun)
Night Control - Death Control (Star 129)
Thee Oh Sees - Help (Go Meet the Seed)
Euros Childs - Son Of Euro Child (How Do You Do)
The Sky Drops - Bourgeois Beat (Hang On)
Cate Le Bon - Me Oh My (The Digging Song)
Hush Arbors - Yankee Reality (One way ticket)
Brian Glaze - Green Living (Bad news)
The Strange Boys - And Girls Club (Should have shot Paul)
Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns (The glam goddess)
The Almighty Defenders - The Almighty Defenders (The Ghost With the Most)
Beak> - Recordings 05/01/09 > 17/01/09 (Ham Green)
Charlotte Hatherley - New Worlds (Wrong Notes)
PJ Harvey - A Woman A Man Walked By (Black hearted love)
St Helens - Heavy Profession (Get Up)
HTRK - Marry Me Tonight (Rentboy)
Dolly Rocker Movement - Our Days Mind The Tyme (Coffin Love)
Norfolk & Western - Dinero Severo (Not for good)
Air - Love 2 (Be a bee)
Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures (Elephants)
Jonny Telafone - Mountain of Smoke (Still Sleeping)
The Bats - The Guilty Office (Two lines)
Julie Doiron - I Wonder What You Did With Your Day (Consolation Prize)
Hanne Hukkelberg - Blood From A Stone (Blood from a stone)
Ourself Beside Me - Ourself Beside Me (Holiday)
Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing (Lay it down)
Zombi - Spirit Animal (Spirit animal)
Fu Manchu - Signs Of Infinite Power (Bionic astronauts)
The Orbweavers - Graphite & Diamonds (Last dance)
Vetiver - Tight Knit (More of this)
Girls - Album (Lust for life)
Iran - Dissolver (I Can See the Future)
Modular - Fantasías De Un Robot Psicodélico (Tour fantastico)
Burning Hearts - Aboa Sleeping (Iris)
Wagons - The Rise & Fall Of Goodtown (Keep Your Eyes Off My Sister)
Little Birdy - Confetti (Run run run)
My Laundry Life - My Laundry Life (Gravity is pulling hard)
Songs - Songs (Different Light)
Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy (Monkey)
Dreamdate - Patience (8 Sleevess)
Cassette - Jingle King (Day goes by)
MOONSPEED - Flowers of the Moon (Water's edge)
The Fiery Furnaces - I'm Going Away (Keep me in dark)
Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand (Let it grow)
Asobi Seksu - Hush (Glacially)
The Stabs - Dead Wood (No hoper)
Vivian Girls - Everything Goes Wrong (Can't get over you)
Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence (Rule my world)
The Whitest Boy Alive - Rules (Rollercoaster ride)
The Clientele - Bonfires on the Heath (Share the night)
Real Estate - Real Estate (Atlantic City)
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Through The Devil Softly (Trouble)
Wilco - Wilco (The Album) (Bull black nova)
Wooden Shjips - Dos (Down by the sea)
Empire of the Sun - Walking On A Dream (Walking an a dream)
Loene Carmen - It Walks Like Love (Cheap glue)
M. Craft - Arrows At The Sun (Young and in love)
Martha Wainwright - Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris: Martha Wainwright's Piaf Record (Marie Trottoir)
The Super Vacations - The Super Vacations (Van.America)
Seapeoples - Blue Star (Song X for girl Y)
Pastels/Tenniscoats - Two Sunsets (Boats)
Legends Of Motorsport - Yeah Uh Huh (Cockroaches)
Thee Oh Sees - Dog Poison (The River Rushes (To Screw MD Over))
Cortney Tidwell - Boys (Oh, suicide)
Rally - Spoiler (Through Tin Ear)
Broadcast & The Focus Group - Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age (Make My Sleep His Song)
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (This tornado loves you)
The Black Ryder - Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride (Outside)
Haruko - Wild Geese (Welcome to loveland)
Quiet Loudly - Soulgazer (I could sleep for days)
Inverness - Forest Fortress (Tongueling)
Dinosaur Jr - Farm (Over it)
Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Walkin blue)
Cheval Sombre - Cheval Sombre (Hyacinth House)
Julian Lynch - Orange You Glad (Andaza)
David Kilgour/Sam Hunt - Falling Debris (First one hit)
Florida - Dead Beat Sons (Heart crumbles)
Condo Fucks - Fuckbook (This is where I belong)
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson - Breakup (Relator)
Skyramps - Days of Thunder (Sky ramping)
Wye Oak - The Knot (Mary is Mary)
Dan Melchior Und Das Menace - Thankyou Very Much (Blue tentacles)

and some things that aren't really albums:

The Cavalcade - Meet Me In The Rain EP (Voices)
Ash - The A-Z Series (Arcadia)
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - 2009 Tour EP (Phansasthma)
The Cavalcade - Edition 59 [#38] (No strength)
The Twerps - EP + CD-R (I Fought Fings)
Pearl Harbor - Calistonia Dreamin' CD-R (Lost @ sea)
Pearl Harbor - Something About The Chaparrals (Sunburn)
The Mayfair Set - Young One EP (Junked)
Rally - Parroting EP (All I know...)
Best Coast - Art Fag 7" (Sun Was High (So Was I))
warpaint - Warpaint EP (Billie Holiday)
Kurt Vile & the Violators - The Hunchback EP (Damn you)
Dirtbag - Reverse the Curse (Who do voodoo)
The Frowning Clouds - Diamonds & Clubs (Lovin You)
God Help The Girl - Stills EP (Stills)
The Carrots - Doing Our Part 7" (Doing Our Part)
Broadcast - Mother is the Milky Way (In here the world begins)
Thee Oh Sees - Tidal Wave (Tidal Wave)
Flying Scribble - Animation in My Head (Animation in My Head)
Dick Diver - Arks Up (Walk for room)
Wooden Shjips - Contact 12" (Contact)
Brown Recluse Sings - The Soft Skin (Rotten Tangerines)
The Laurels - 7" (Wandering Star)
Stan Hubbs - Stan Hubbs (Let's go on back to camp)
Jimmy Hawk - Born On A Mountain (All the boys)
Florida - Florida 7" (Icarus)
Denim Owl - The Dream Pocket (Knitted Soup)

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