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Top albums
1. As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take It With You
2. August Burns Red - Constellations
3. Thrice - Beggars
4. Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
5. Dance Gavin Dance - Happiness
6. Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest
7. Jonny Craig -A Dream Is A Question You Don't Know How to Answer
8.Every Time I Die - New Junk Aesthetic
9.Behemoth - Evangelion
10.Portal - Swarth

Honorable mentions (no specific order)
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
Baroness - Blue Record
Wolves in the Throne Room - Black Cascade
We Came As Romans - To Plant a Seed
Thursday - Common Existence
Enter Shikari - Common Dreads
A Skylit Drive - Adelphia
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Oracles
Paramore - Brand New Eyes
The Eyes Of A Traitor - A Clear Perspective
Fall of Efrafa - Inle
Architects - Hollow Crown
Converge - Axe to Fall
fun. - Aim and Ignite

Biggest improvements
1. Born of Osiris - A Higher Place
2. The Devil Wears Prada - With Roots Above and Branches Below

Worst albums (no specific order)
Suicide Silence - No Time To Bleed
Emmure - Felony
Asking Alexandria - Stand Up and Scream
Attack Attack! - whatever the fuck their album is called
The Fall of Troy - In the Unlikely Event



I haven't listened to every album this year, so this is subject to change.

Follow the Link Blog


Black Dahlia Murder- Deflorate
Calvin Harris- Ready For The Weekend
Wallpaper. - Doodoo Face
Enter Shikari- Common Dreads
Every Time I Die - The New Junk Aesthetic
Frankmusik- Complete Me
Phoenix - Wolfgan Amadeus Phoenix
Passion Pit - Manners
As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take It With You

Runners Up:
Muse - The Resistance
Crown City Rockers - The Day After Forever
HORSE the band - Desperate Living
3 - Revisions
The Red Chord - Fed Through The Teeth Machine
Peter Bjorn & John - Living Thing
Nakatomi Plaza - Ghosts
MSTRKRFT - Fist Of God
Chin Chin - The Flashing, The Fancing
The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant

Honorable Mentions:
Dethklok - Dethalbum II
Killswitch Engage - Killswitch Engage
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
Manchester Orchestra - Everything To Nothing
Roy Hargrove - Emergence
Teagan & Sara - Sainthood
Portugal. The Man - The Satanic Satanist
Company of Thieves - Ordinary Riches

Here is my latest good songs cd, it is probably about number 50 since I changed the name of the cds around 22 or 23 and started counting over again (because of a drastic change in music taste). Now I'm already back up to 27:

1.Thrice - The Messenger
A really short song, but a lot of aggresion in it has made me come back to it after having this release for quite some time.

2.The Helio Sequence - Can't Say No
It took me awhile, but I suddenly "got" this cd, listening to it on the way home from work recently.

3.Discovery - So Insane
This is not the best song on the cd (that would be Osaka Loop Line, which is one of my top songs of 2009, and I have it on a previous Good Songs cd), but it's still very good and super catchy.

4.Sigur Ros - Voka (Live)
Sigur Ros is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands after discovering them a little while back. This song has incredible emotion.

5.Rx Bandits - In Her Drawer
I've been somewhat addicted to this song and the cd that it is on since seeing them live a few months ago.

6.Flyleaf - Beautiful Bride
A new song by Flyleaf...listening to it now, I can't quite remember why I put this song on here, but some songs hit me differently at certain times, so who knows. It's an alright song.

7.Phoenix - Lisztomania
A cool sounding catchy song.

8.As Tall as Lions - Be Here Now
The cd this song is on is so good, I think almost every song has been on a Good Songs cd, this is the latest one that I have been in to.

9.Harlem Shakes - Strictly Game
I got this song on a free sampler and I think it came up on itunes shuffle and I liked it alot. I am planning on getting the cd that this song is on soon.

10.Anberlin - True Faith
The latest cover song by Anberlin, they sent it to radio and it seems to be doing well. Having not heard the original, it took me a couple listens, but I like the vibe of this song.

This year's batch of top albums was a bit difficult to compile for me. Not to say 2009 was a terrible year in music, it wasn't - but it also wasn't anything astounding either. That being said -- here's my list. Love it, hate it, argue with it. Color me apathetic. :)

The Dear Hunter - Act III: Life and Death
Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Lining
Mastodon - Crack the Skye
A Day to Remember - Homesick
Wale - Attention Defecit
Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
Animals as Leaders - Animals as Leaders
Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx... Pt. II
The Devil Wears Prada - With Roots Above and Branches Below
As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take it With You
mewithoutYou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
Isis - The Wavering Radiant
Thrice - Beggars
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer
Gallows - Grey Britain

Honorable Mentions:
30 Seconds to Mars - This is War
Kid Cudi - The Man on the Moon: End of Day
The Appleseed Cast - Sagarmatha
Drake - So Far Down

Worst Thing to Break Out in 2009:
Lady GaGa

Seriously. Fuck her.

Like last year, there's a lot of new music out there that I didn't get a chance to check out. C'est la vie.

I didn't link to songs...too lazy! Last.fm's system is irritating hah.

1. How did you get into 29? (The Used)
A music video in grade 7. I believe it was for All That I've Got.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22? (David Bowie)
Ohh. As The World Falls Down. :] <3

3. What’s your favorite lyric by 33? (Soundtrack)
It's not a real artist...there's a lot of songs. :P

4. What is your favorite album by 49? (Port Blue)
Err, I dunno; both are good.

5. How many albums by 13 do you own? (Dashboard Confessional)
I have all of them on my Zune, save for whatever songs I didn't like enough to keep.

6. What is your favorite song by 50? (Electric President)
Ten Thousand Lines.

7. Is there a song by 39 that makes you sad? (Bjork and Say Anything are jointed for this one)
Some of BJORK'S songs can be really melancholy. Maybe Undo? And Say Anything...I kind of only like Alive With The Glory of Love and that sometimes makes me sad if I am feeling lonely. Sooo.

8. What is your favorite album by 15? (The Maine)
Can't Stop, Won't Stop.

9. What is your favorite song by 5? (Death Cab for Cutie)
A Lack of Color. Coney Island.

10. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy? (Nobuo Uematsu)
I like a lot of his songs! Obviously. I can't pick just one..

11. What is your favorite album by 40? (The Postal Service and Boys Night Out joint)
Brand New Colony and Medicating, respectively.

12. What is your favorite song by 10? (Emanuel)
Soundtrack to a Headrush.

13. What is a good memory you have involving 30? (Final Fantasy)
Driving in the car with my sister.

14. What is your favorite song by 38? (Bjork...for the sake of not explaining Say Anything again)
Possibly Maybe. Or It's In Our Hands.

15. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy? (Owl City and From First to Last joint)
The Saltwater Room, Rainbow Veins, and The Tip of the Iceberg for Owl City...FFTL is my screamo anger band.

16. How many times have you seen 25 live? (The Radio Dept.)
Never.

17. What is the first song you ever heard by 23? (The Good Life)
Drinking With The Girls, in Emo Game....2?

18. What is your favorite album by 11? (The Teenagers)
Reality Check.

19. Who is a favorite member of 1? (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Anthony Keidis! <3

20. Have you ever seen 14 live? (M83)
Nope. :[

21. What is a good memory involving 27? (New Young Pony Club)
Watching Moonlight.

22. What is your favorite song by 16? (Explosions in the Sky)
Your Hand In Mine and also The Only Moment We Were Alone.

23. What is the first song you ever heard by 47? (Savage Garden and Daphne Loves Derby joint)
Truly Madly Deeply when I was like 5 and idk for DLD.

24. What is your favorite album by 18? (Pompeii)
Assembly.

25. What is your favorite song by 21? (AFI)
The Killing Lights, probably. Or Summer Shudder. Or Silver and Cold.

26. What is the first song you ever heard by 26? (Broken Social Scene)
Guilty Cubicles.

27. What is your favorite album by 3? (PlayRadioPlay!)
I don't have one. He only had two, the rest was myspace released. And even the albums contained a lot of MS songs.

28. What is you favorite song by 22? (David Bowie)
Ashes to Ashes, Underground, As The World Falls Down, Changes...etc..

29. What was the first song you ever heard by 32? (Bright Eyes)
It's Cool, We Can Still Be Friends.

30. What is you favorite song by 8? (Minus the Bear)
Pachuca Sunrise, Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Warehouse, orr The Pig War. I love them.

1. How many times have you seen 17 live? (Taking Back Sunday)
Never :[.

32. Is there a song by 44 that makes you happy? (Frou Frou)
Hear Me Out.

33. What is you favorite album by 12? (Hammock)
Err, can't pick.

34. What is the worst song by 45? (We The Kings)
Not sure.

35. What was the first song you ever heard by 34? (As Tall as Lions)
Ghost of York.

36. What is you favorite album by 48? (30 Seconds to Mars)
Ohh, idk.

37. How many times have you seen 42 live? (Pinback)
Neverrr.

38. What is you favorite song by 36? (Architecture in Helsinki)
Like a Call.

39. What was the first song you ever heard by 28? (The Cure)
Secrets.

40. What is your favorite album by 7? (Stars)
Heart. Or Set Yourself on Fire. Or the Sad Robot one.

41. Is there a song by 31 that makes you happy? (HYDE)
Naw, I listen to him more when I'm kind of indifferent.

42. What is your favorite album by 41? (Postal Service and Boys Night Out joint)
Give Up, and I can't pick BNO.

43. What is your favorite song by 24? (Copeland)
I don't really listen to them a whole lot anymore. Pin Your Wings, maybe.

44. What is a good memory you have involving 46? (Savage Garden and Daphne Loves Derby joint)
Nothing for DLD. Loveeee with Savage Garden. It is like a theme song for us. :D

45. What is your favorite song by 35? (Metro Station)
Errr. Probably Shake It.

46. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy? (Los Campesinos!)
You! Me! Dancing! and Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown #1 and International Tweexcore Underground.

47. What is your favorite album by 4? (Taniuchi Hideki)
Errr, Death Note Soundtracks.

48. Who is a favorite member of 37? (Fujita Junpei)
It's just one person. o_o

49. What is the first song you ever heard by 43? (IAMX)
Simple Girl. <3

50. How many albums do you own by 20? (Owl City and From First to Last joint)
All of them except the latest FFTL, minus songs I've deleted and not liked.

Hey, it's almost 2010. Crazy, yeah? Here's some stuff I liked and some stuff I hated in the past year.

Remember guys, music is objective. This list is based solely on facts
and can be scientifically proven.

Loved:
- Converge - Axe To Fall
- Kylesa - Static Tensions
- maudlin of the Well - Part The Second
- Touche Amore - To The Beat of a Dead Horse
- Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation of the Black Widow.
- Japandroids - Post-Nothing
- Ulcerate - Everything is Fire
- Snowing - Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
- Animal Collective - Merritweather Post Pavillion
- Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport

Liked:
- The Chasm - Farseeing The Paranormal Abysm
- HEALTH - Get Color
- Asphyx - Death... The Brutal Way
- Black Math Horseman - Wyllt
- Candlemass - Death Magic Doom
- Modest Mouse - No One's First and You're Next
- Dinosaur Jr. Farm
- Mono - Hymn To The Mortal Wind
- Andrew Jackson Jihad - Can't Maintain
- Lightning Bolt - Early Delights
- The Mars Volta - Octahedron
- Mos Def - The Ecstatic
- Clark - Totems Falre
- Altar of Plagues - White Tomb
- Magrudergrind - Mageudergrind
- As Tall as Lions - You Can't Take It With You
- Portal - Swarth
- Eagle Twin - The Unkindness of Crows
- Sleepy Sun - Embrace

indifferent
- The Antlers - Hospice
- Mastodon - Crack The Skye
- The xx - XX

Disliked:
- Lamb of God - Wrath
- Obscura - Cosmogenesis
- Between the Buried and Me - The Great Misdirect
- The Black Dahlia Murder - Deflorate
- Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
- Suffocation - Blood Oath
- Pestilence - Resurrection Macabre
- Gorod - Process of a New Decline
- Katatonia - Night is the New Day
- Thy Catafalque - Róka Hasa Rádió
- Exivious - Exivious
- fun. - Aim and Ignite
- Dream Theater - Black Clouds & Silver Linings

The stuff I didn't listen to but probably sucked anyway
- Behemoth - Evangelion
- Chimaira's new album
- Amorphis - Skyforger
- new Dying Fetus album
- Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague
- Megadeth - Endagame
- Porcupine Tree - The Incident
- Immortal - All Shall Fal
- Dethklok - Dethalbum II
- Slayer - World Painted Blood
- The new Born of Osiris album

More to come as I listen to / remember them

This year, particularly in music, was an odd year for me. The first half of the year was dominated by electronic music, whether it be electro-rock, airy dream-pop tunes, or retro lo-fi synth-pop. I finally attended the Ultra Music Festival after years of wishing that I could go. The festival was a great time and Miami is a fantastic city. The second half of the year involved a major shift to indie rock, freak folk, shoegaze, and post rock. While I still listened to electronic-influenced music, it was mostly combined with indie elements. This shift was likely a result of getting a radio playlist show on Indiespot on Metaphoric (check out my main page for information), which has me consistently looking for brand new alternative and indie tunes and artists. Fun times…but without further ado, here is my 2009 Year in Review.

To make the top albums list somewhat easier for myself, I’m going to split my list into an overall top list and a more electronic-focused list. It seems to be the only way I can manage to figure this out.

Top Twenty-One Amazing Albums of the Year





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21. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor (Best Tracks: Sun Hands, Airplanes)

20. Grammatics – Grammatics (Best Tracks: D.I.L.E.M.M.A., Murderer)

19. The Antlers – Hospice (Best Tracks: Kettering, Sylvia)

18. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion (Best Tracks: My Girls, Summertime Clothes)

17. Mute Math – Armistice (Best Tracks: Backfire, Burden)

16. Nurses – Apple’s Acre (Best Tracks: Technicolor, manatarms)

15. Bombay Bicycle Club – I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose (Best Tracks: What If, Always Like This)

14. Post War Years – The Greats and the Happenings (Best Tracks: White Lies, Soul Owl)

13. The xx – xx (Best Tracks: Shelter, Crystalised)

12. Tune-Yards – BiRd-BrAiNs (Best Tracks: Hatari, Sunlight)

11. dd/mm/yyyy – Black Square (Best Tracks: I'm Still In The Walls, Infinity Skull Cube)

10. The Whitest Boy Alive – Rules (Best Tracks: Island, 1517)

9. Ramona Falls – Intuit (Best Tracks: I Say Fever, Russia)

8. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Best Tracks: 1901, Love Like a Sunset)

7. Faunts – Feel.Love.Thinking.Of (Best Tracks: Out On A Limb, Alarmed/Lights)

6. The Appleseed Cast – Sagarmatha (Best Tracks: A Bright Light, The Road West)

5. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers (Best Tracks: Two Dancers (i), We Still Got The Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues)

4. The Maccabees – Wall Of Arms (Best Tracks: No Kinds Words, Love You Better)

3. Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories the World… (Best Tracks: Introducing Palace Players, Vaccine)

2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (Best Tracks: Two Weeks, Fine for Now)

1. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic (Best Tracks: The Ego's Last Stand, Silver Trembling Hands)

Top Ten Electronic/Dance Albums of the Year




10. DatA – Skywriter (Best Tracks: Aerius Light, Electric Fever)

9. Yuksek – Away From The Sea (Best Tracks: Extraball, Tonight)

8. Moderat – Moderat (Best Tracks: Seamonkey, Rusty Nails)

7. Amanda Blank – I Love You (Best Tracks: Shame On Me, Might Like You Better)

6. Felix da Housecat – He Was King (Best Tracks: Kickdrum, Machine)

5. Simian Mobile Disco – Temporary Pleasure (Best Track: Turn Up The Dial, 10000 Horses Can't Be Wrong)

4. The Juan Maclean – The Future Will Come (Best Tracks: Happy House, The Simple Life)

3. Peaches – I Feel Cream (Best Tracks: More, Take you On)

2. Vitalic – Flashmob (Best Tracks: Poison Lips, Still)

1. Röyksopp – Junior (Best Tracks: Vision One, True To Life)

Top Ten EPs of the Year




10. Memory Cassette – Call & Response
9. Ted & Francis – Ted & Francis
8. Tesla Boy – Demo EP
7. Maserati – Passages
6. The Golden Filter – The Golden Filter
5. Delphic – Counterpoint / This Momentary
4. Animal Collective – Be Fall Kind
3. Weird Tapes – Get Religion
2. Washed out – Life Of Leisure
1. We Plants Are Happy Plants – 548 EP

Artists with a Release Worth Mentioning
Air
A Place to Bury Strangers
As Tall as Lions
Bat for Lashes
Black Moth Super Rainbow
brazos
brothersister
Bruce Peninsula
Dan Deacon
Fever Ray
Florence + The Machine
Fuck Buttons
The Horrors
Matt & Kim
Memory Tapes
The Mercury Program
Rubik
Silversun Pickups
Teengirl Fantasy
We Were Promised Jetpacks

Best Albums I Discovered in 2009 Not Released in 2009


3. Kelley Polar – I Need You To Hold On While The Sky Is Falling
2. Télépopmusik – Angel Milk
1. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Live Shows and Events in 2009
Concerts Attended – 30 (Will likely be 31)
Festivals Attended – 4

Venues Most Frequented
Ottobar – Website – Baltimore,MD – 7 times
Sonar – Website – Baltimore, MD – 7 times
9:30 Club – Website – Washington, DC – 3 times

Best Live Shows/Concerts*

10. Junior Boys/Woodhands/Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt – Sonar – Oct 30th
9. Depeche Mode – Lollapalooza – Aug 9th
8. MSTRKRFT/Spank Rock/Amanda Blank – Sonar – April 4th
7. Sébastien Tellier/Lemonade – 9:30 Club – April 3rd
6. The Juan Maclean/The Field – Pure – May 22nd
5. Friendly Fires – Black Cat – March 24th
4. Mute Math/As Tall as Lions – Sonar – Sept 24th
3. Peaches – 9:30 Club – June 17th
2. Simian Mobile Disco/Feadz/Triobelisk – Sonar – April 25th
1. Rabbit in the Moon/Pendulum – Ultra Music Festival – March 27th

*I expect to add Lake Trout to this list before the end of the year.

To see the rest of my 2009 shows, refer to the Shows of 2009 journal entry.

Best Music Blogs or Websites

5. DecoyMusic
4. Pasta Primavera
3. Consequence of Sound
2. Stereogum
1. RCRD LBL

Most Anticipated for 2010
Band of Horses – Night Rainbows
Beach House – Teen Dream
Gorillaz – Plastic Beach
Hot Chip – One Life Stand
Klaxons – TBA
Lake Trout – TBA
Menomena – TBA
Minus the Bear – TBA
Radiohead – TBA(?)
Röyksopp – Senior
Spoon – Transference
The Strokes – TBA(?)
Télépopmusik – In the Air
These New Puritans – Hidden
Yeasayer – Odd Blood

Wed 2 Dec – Frightened Rabbit, As Tall as Lions, The Phantom Band

It’s testament to how the stock of these two outstanding acts continue to rise, as the ticket demand for tonight show has reached near fever pitch, with excitement brimming on the faces of those in possession of their prized ticket and dismay on those who don’t, casting an envious glance at the rest. The Phantom Band flawless Checkmate Savage albums has seen them entrenched amongst Chemikal Underground’s legendary coterie, and as for our headliners, they continue to garner rave reviews and fans in high places, so it’s perhaps no surprise to see the sad sight of dejected fan after fan being turned away by sullen bouncers, with no ken of the fervour in which these kindle of Frabbit follower regard their heroes (no doubt ready to burrow a tunnel underneath just to catch a glimpse…)

It would be unfair of me to comment on As Tall as Lions as I only caught a fleeting glimpse of their jazz-funk overtones, playing what sounded suspiciously like ‘Moving on Up’ by Curtis Mayfield - so onwards to The Phantom Band, who kick things off in stirring and intensive fashion, it’s as if Fat Sams has suddenly taken the form of a ominously creaking Route 66 highway pit-stop with an unsettling score to match, as a dark and creeping deep bluesy Americana unfolds and resonates round the venue powered by throbbing bass that shakes you to your very core as we’re surrounded by swirling suggestive synths all put to mesmerizing effect and propelled forcefully forward by commanding yet intricate and exotic percussion.

To describe them using purely foreboding and dramatic tenor, would be to do them a disservice, as they eschew compartmentalising, having an extraordinary knack of melding psychedelic, avant-garde and esoteric influences with instantly accessible elements of indie-folk-rock, if not sharing a flirting glance with their trenchant pop sensibilities.

‘Folk Song Oblivion’ has an impressive bluesy swagger, while ‘Left Hand Wave’ and ‘Crocodile’ owes a great debt to our Teutonic Krautrock and Techno pioneers, with a sprinkle of Captain Beef Heart bedlam. No matter what chameleon-esque guise they take, one element remains constant - the bulwark of percussion that lies at The Phantom Band‘s core, proving to underpin the free-form psychedelic expression and experimentalism but never managing to hamper its spirit.

After a brief scurry back-stage to speak to the aforementioned, aloof chameleons, I end up catching a few moments of Frightened Rabbit thundering through a slew of Midnight Organ Fight’s familiar highlights (‘Modern Leper’-‘I Feel Better’-‘Old Old Fashioned’) from stage-left, but soon I’m inexorably drawn into the thronging masses due to the sheer energy and vehemence of the crowd.

The sight of a ebullient Scott Hutchinson decked out in flannel, seems to elicit a strong reaction from the female contingent amongst tonight’s Dundonian audience, with more than a few seemingly hankering after the Hutchison seed and gene-pool, although this is no one-man band, Scott’s bolstered by an ever-growing band of brothers and rack of expensive guitars and equipment, with every song sounding fleshed out and amped up a notch or two including the newly aired track ‘Nothing Like You’ and latest single ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ which goes down a storm.

It’s amazing to think that that this humble Selkirk band that hold no rock-star pretentious, adept at creating contemplative compositions imbued with dark humour and emotions laid-bare have been embraced on both sides of the Atlantic and further a field. It could well be down to their self-deprecation disposition, universal themes and ability to write emotionally resonant songs without ever sounding maudlin or self-pitying, instead their Scottish character is ingrained in every track, trading clichéd affectations for a national authenticity that holds more in common with Tartan Export than Tartan Shortbread.

With this in mind the night draws to a close with the melancholic and raw relationship lament ‘Poke’ and as the crowd get evermore more raucous they finish on the rousing ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ complete with it’s crude, ribald lyrics steeped in relatable social-realism - “You won’t find love in a, won’t find love in a hole…it takes more than F--king someone to keep yourself warm” is sung back with such fervour and spirit that it could almost pose as a post-modern, surrogate National Anthem for a more reflective and unified Nation, focusing on inner turmoil and temperament rather than pitched battles and causes of Auld Lang Syne.

Harky!The Phantom BandThe Phantom BandCaptain Beef Heart