top 10 albums of the year

[john k]

is it too early to start this ?

[toastie]

Yes. Though Hannah has done a list already.

[Sunny D]

1. P.O.S. - Never Better
2. The Mountain Goats – The Life Of The World To Come
3. Say Anything – Say Anything
4. Art Brut - Art Brut Vs. Satan
5. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
6. Bo Burnham - Bo Burnham
7. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
8. The Decemberists – The Hazards Of Love
9. The Bird and the Bee – Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future
10. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown


EDIT: After thinking about it... P.O.S. is#1. That is one solid album.

[doctoracula]

this year has been so awesome

this will probably change, but as of now id say my top 10 albums are:

1. neko case - middle cyclone
2. future of the left - travels with myself and another
3. banner pilot - collapser
4. cheap girls - my roaring 20s
5. pissed jeans - king of jeans
6. dear landlord - dream homes
7. sonic youth - the eternal
8. monsters of folk - s/t
9. the leftovers - eager to please
10. lighten up - absolutely not

top 10 EPs

1. the lawrence arms - buttsweat and tears
2. full of fancy - every wall in the parlor
3. rumspringer - s/t
4. cheap girls - art of the underground 7"
5. everyone everywhere - a lot of weird people standing around
6. the copyrights/the dopamines split
7. paint it black - surrender
8. dopamines - soap and lampshades
9. tenement - icepick
10. lemuria - ozzy

great things that i wouldnt count on a list because they're not technically albums but still rule anyway:

harvey danger - dead sea scrolls
REM - live at the olympia
the beatles remasters

[stevedave]

Wow I really struggled to find ten records I like which were released this year. I guess I'm getting old after all.

1. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
2. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
3. ¡Chutzpah! – The Wildhearts
4. The Blueprint III – Jay-Z
5. Sonic Boom – Kiss
6. A Positive Rage – The Hold Steady
7. A Brief History Of Love - The Big Pink
8. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
9. Journal For Plague Lovers - Manic Street Preachers
10. Humbug – Arctic Monkeys

[lilhan]

Nov 6, 2009 15:02:28 GMT -5 toastie said:

Yes. Though Hannah has done a list already.

i made it very clear that it was provisional.

[bigontheinside]

In no particular order...
1. The Rakes - KLANG
2. Art Brut - Art Brut VS Satan
3. Frank Turner - Poetry Of The Deed
4. Franz Nicolay - Major General (Or was that 2008? It was 2009 here in the UK, I think)
5. Bo Burnham - Bo Burnham
6. Stephen Lynch - 3 Balloons
7. Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (And other love songs)
8. Drive By Truckers - Live from Austin, TX (Purely for that amazing story he tells in 18 Wheels of Love)
9. The Hold Steady - A Positive Rage (Purely for that awesome version of Killer Parties)
10. Flight Of The Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky (It's not out yet, but I heard all the songs on the show)

That was really hard. 2 of them were live albums and 3 of them were freaking comedy albums!

[Mahoney]

i love lists, i don't care if it's too early.

1. animal collective- MPP
2. Raekwon- only built for cuban linx II
3. phoenix- wolfgang amadeus phoenix
4. decemberists- hazards of love
5. dirty projectors- bitte orca
6. pearl jam- backspacer
7. sunset rubdown- dragonslayer
8. phish- joy
9. passion pit- manners
10. neko case- middle cyclone

honorables: dino jr- farm
girls- album
volcano choir- unmap
st. vincent- actor

[parock]

too early for me john k, give me another 2-3 weeks or so. lots of good stuff this year though, many which Mahoney and doctoracula hit on the head.

[tonyrockyhorror]

in no particular order, and thus far incomplete

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Lucero - 1372 Overton Park
Ben Nichols - The Last Pale Light in the West
Irepress - Sole Eye Sea I
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Tyondai Braxton - Central Market
Isis - Wavering Radiant
Mastodon - Crack the Skye

[john k]

dino jr - farm
sonic youth - the eternal
reigning sound - love and curses
young fresh fellows - i think it is
richmond fontaine - we used to think ......
yo la tengo - popular songs
mission of burma - the sound the speed the light
chuck prophet - let freedom ring
boston spaceships - zero to 99
marked men - ghosts

also good albums by wilco, minus 5, tragically hip, jay reatard, gallows, obits, trail of dead, thermals, pissed jeans, riverdales and bob mould.

[doctoracula]

i wasnt very into the riverdales record. i like "heart out of season" but thats about it

[toastie]

Nov 7, 2009 6:24:13 GMT -5 @lilhan said:

Nov 6, 2009 15:02:28 GMT -5 toastie said:

Yes. Though Hannah has done a list already.

i made it very clear that it was provisional.

My bad, was skimming it more than anything else.

[Sunny D]

I'm suprised to see no Mountain Goats love from anyone else yet.

[lilhan]

Nov 8, 2009 14:45:01 GMT -5 toastie said:

Nov 7, 2009 6:24:13 GMT -5 @lilhan said:

i made it very clear that it was provisional.

My bad, was skimming it more than anything else.

yep, totally why i write these things.

[hoodrat]

Nov 8, 2009 22:00:30 GMT -5 Sunny D said:

I'm suprised to see no Mountain Goats love from anyone else yet.

i love the goats, i do. but this album is not really resonating with me yet the way some of his others have. some of his output has required a lot of "growing" and i just got this last week. anyway, i'm not sure it will make my list.

of course, i'm still working on my 2008 list. so, you know, there may never actually be a list. i'm no good at lists.

[ontheradio]

i love the goats, i do. but this album is not really resonating with me yet the way some of his others have. some of his output has required a lot of "growing" and i just got this last week. anyway, i'm not sure it will make my list.

It took me a few times, it didn't have the same immediacy of so many tMG releases. Yet after a dozen or so in depth listening sessions I found the emotion that we all know and love from Darnielle. Maybe it's the relative quiet of the band that makes it seem almost..timid. More and more though i'm finding it to be one of the most mature and well thought out tMG releases yet.

So, while I'm not quite making a top ten for 2009 yet this will for sure be on it.

Also, "Genesis 30:3" live with only John + piano=oh my god tears in my eyes.

[cerpin]

1. The Antlers- Hospice
2. Porcupine Tree- The Incident
3. The Decemberists- The Hazards of Love
4. The Mars Volta- Octahedron
5. The XX- XX
6. The Flaming Lips- Embryonic
7.Katatonia- Night is the New day
8.The Mountain goats- The life of the world to be
9. Say Anything- Say Anything
no ten yet

[citrus]

1. Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest
2. The Dodos- Time to Die
3. Animal Collective- Merriweather Post Pavillion
4. Dawes- North Hills
5. Lucero- 1372 Overton Park
6. Girls- Album
7. Wilco- Wilco (The Album)
8. Sunset Rubdown- Dragonslayer
9. Dizzee Rascal- Tongue 'n' Cheek
10. Sonic Youth- The Eternal

[doctoracula]

i think i need to replace the leftovers record on my list with the house boat record

[toastie]

It must be said these are difficult desicions and are open to change.

1.) Lucero - 1372 Overton Park

Its been said recently that Ben Nichols is one the next springsteens. He doesn't prove otherwise on this album of southern fried Replacments. Unusally, the songs are faster which normally means poorer arrangements. But 1372 holds up fast, catchy songs with horns, organs and lap steel. The whole album is a beer and whisky swigging, lamp shade breaking album that is one big album. Viva la Nichols.

2.) Broken Records - Until the Earth begins to part

Scottish folk music that would sound of place at a ceildh. A powerful debut from beginning to end. People who compare them to Arcade Fire be damned, this group could do anything on the next album and it will still be an emotional journey.

3.) Mark Mallman - Invincible Criminal

Finally, rock that doesn't sound contrived. Mallman has managed to create an album of (mostly) anthemic songs that deserve an audience

4.) Franz Nicolay - Major General

I'm not adding this album because I know the fellow, but the album is choc-a-bloc of cabaret-esque rock that swings and thumps.

5.) Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone

Yes, I've been touting the live prowess of these guys (it is now that Laura Hyde (bass) left) for a year and a half. Whilst the album is shouty and dynamic, lacks a slight dimensionality that labelmates, Johnny Foreigner

6.) Frank Turner - Poetry of the Deed

A difficult choice, almost made fifth. Turner has come up with an album more personal and rocking. This Lp has brought the other moustached one further into the mainstream
7.) Noisettes - Wild Young Hearts

This years surprise breakthrough act. The trio stradle a number of genres and demonstrate so on this (seemingly) not so difficult second album.

8.) Bruce Springsteen - Working on a dream

I hear screams of "Eighth you twat?", but yes "The Boss" sits in the bottom half of this list. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent album that prove Springsteen is never going to die. The only thing that lowers it is that is doesn't quite have the anger of "Magic" or the disgust present in "The Rising".

9.) Rook and the Ravens - Sixteen Holes In Sixteen Souls

Fighting for eighth, this Manc just made it because for the hooks that come stright from the great American and Canadian writers of yore with classic British soul.

10.) Idlewild - Post Electric Blues

I was seriously hoping that this album was going to be a major return to form, but instead expands on the folk influences on the past 2 LPs. Not an awful album but not brill either. The album is definetly a grower that wouldprobably dissapoint fans of their early work.

Honorable mentions:
The Hold Steady - Positive Rage
Sonic Youth - The Eternal


Top 20 Songs

WARNING: This list may contain pop songs.

1.) Tv on the Radio - Heros (David Bowie cover)

Bowie is a genius. The pop chameleon chose the right band to cover one of his biggest hits for charity: TVOTR are the natural heirs to Bowies crown of slightly bizzare pop.

2.) Frank Turner - The Road

There are few people qualified enough to write about touring in underground bands, the only other person that comes to mind is Craig Finn. Turner sings of the woes of touring in a way that refuses to be pitiful

3.) Biffy Clyro - The Captain

Pirate rock at its finest. BC have thrown out angularity and obscurity for horns and thumping tunes. As ever, Simon Neil's guitar isn't overpowering but locks in neatly with twin rythym section of James and Ben Johnston.

4.) Wilco - Wilco

A latecomer to mind radar, Jeff Tweedy & co have written yet another stomper of a song. Would serve brilliantly as a soundtrack to a day at the beach during Spring Break

5.) Dananananaykroyd - The Greater Than Symbol And The Hash

The album version is far better than that on Sissy Hits EP. The song goes through the motions of an agressive guy on a night out, expect guys don't feature harcore breakdowns.

6.) Mark Mallman - You're Never Alone In New York (feat Craig Finn)
Mallman sings of being most comfortable in NYC. Finn is an inspired choice as its the first time he has directly sang about New York as a city. Finn provides a raw vocal over the songs polished instruments.

7.) Franz Nicolay - Confessions of an Ineffective Casanova

Musically, punky and scratchy (for want of a better word). Lyrically, very similar to Lucero's Cass, which in turn is an interpretation of Charles Lebowski's "Most Beautiful Girl In Town": tale of a messed up, beautiful girl


8.) Cobra Starship - Good Girls Go Bad

Yes, the lyrics are transparent and the music is far more polished than royal silverware, but its as catchy as an STD. Leighton Meester's appearance brings a second side to the "story".

9.) Noisettes - Never forget you

After the unprecented success of "Don't upset the rythym", most bands would flounder into obscurity (think Wheatus), but not these guys. A nostalgic look at the past brings another smash hit for the trio

10.) Sonic Youth - Sacred Trickster

I'll be honest, I don't "get" shoegaze, which is maybe why the rest of the album comes across as a flop to me. But as an opener, its strong, solid and no-nonsense with guitar duo Thurston Moore and Lee Ronaldo slamming the guitars to within an inch of their lifes.

11.) Rook and the Ravens - The Girl With a Chip On Her Shoulder

Pure bar rock that wouldn't sound out of place on a Wilco album. Definetly in favour of the sped up rocking with superb drum fills where appropriate.

12.) New York Dolls - 'Coz I Sez So

Classic from the ageing former cross-dressers. Mixing blues-rock with a dash of punk isn't a million miles from the Johnny Thunders days.

13.) Malcolm Middleton & The Hold Steady - Run to you

A radio only duet of the Bryan Adams classic. Perhaps an odd choice for both acts but is puled with a subtle finesse not normally seen in duets. Middleton's raw Scottish voice works well against Finn's raw American voice.

14.) David Guetta - Sexy B***h

Yes its a dance song and succeds on that brief, smooth synths and subtle beats and lyrics about...well y' know.

15.) The Hold Steady - Atlantic City

The only THS song in the list this year, all is quiet as the gang are writing/ recording a new album. But another mention for the War Child charity album (the other being TVOTR). The arrangement isn't normal Springsteen with saxaphone replacing the mandolin and the big, fuck off solo.

16.) Enter Shikari - Juggernauts

Finally, Shikari have written a decent song. Dealing with the economy and social of woes of a Britain on its knees, also suggests all is not lost.

17.) Lily Allen - Not Fair

If there ever was a reason not to sleep with Miss Allen, this probably tops the list. Singing about bad sex is the sort of thing we'd expect from her, along with little girls singing it in the school playground.

18.) You Me At Six - Finders Keepers

Why such a young band would write about alcoholism is beyond me but is exactly what comes across on this non-album track.

19.) Morrisey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

An aptly titled album of misery from Moz. Surprisingly alright, acoustics, swelling string section and a sharp electric guitar thrown in the mix.

20.) Idlewild - Readers & Writers

Just making the list, brass and guitars all over the place. Classic Idlewild with guitarist Rod Jones providing ever reliable melodies.

Honorable mentions:

THS - Killer Parties (From Positive Rage)
My Chemical Romance - Desolation Row (Bob Dylan cover)
King Blues - Bonkers (Dizee Rascal cover)

[doctoracula]

that MCR dylan cover is one of the worst things i've ever heard
i keep forgetting that the morrissey record came out this year. it didnt really grab me at first, but its got some great stuff on it. i think the best song is "it's not your birthday anymore"

[parock]

Nov 16, 2009 14:34:59 GMT -5 toastie said:

9.) Dinosaur Jr. - Farm

One album that just doesn't quite pull me, unusual considering that Beyond just blew doubters out of the water.

10.) Idlewild - Post Electric Blues
Not an awful album but not brill either.

Why are these on the list then?

[toastie]

Because I couldn't think of anything else.

[cerpin]

Where is the love for The Antlers