No rankings for my favorite albums of 2009. Just a list and a few comments. Here's the list:
Mountain Goats - The Life of the World to Come - I'm liking this one more than the last two Goats albums. It's a good consistent effort from them with a couple of great high notes.
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - I finally really gave in to Phoenix with this one.
Matt and Kim - Grand - Just a lot of fun. I need more fun albums.
Mewithoutyou - It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright - Danielson plus Mewithoutyou. What is there not to love?
The Antlers - Hospice -A really fragile sounding album. Sad but really enjoyable.
David Wilcox - Open Hand -I couldn't quit listening to this album this year. Wilcox's best in quite a while.
Freelance Whales - Weathervanes -Sort of folky. Sort of electronic. Not exactly a consistent album, but really great in places.
Mount Eerie - Wind Poems - Another great, brooding album from Mount Eerie.
True Widow - True Widow - Dark and doomy debut from a great local band.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Beware - Quirky and creepy but quite different for Oldham.
David Bazan - Curse Your Branches -Songwriting that still cuts deep. Hard to Be was probably my favorite song of the year.
Danny Balis - Too Much Living - Twangy country from the Afternoon Cloud.
The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love - Straight out of the 80s. It's got that good 4AD sound, just 20 years later.
Andy Gullahorn - The Law of Gravity - I love the writing on this album.
Doug Burr - The Shawl - It isn't On Promenade, but he is putting out some great music.
I made it to a lot of shows this year. There weren't too many new bands, but I saw a lot of my live favorites again. Low, Morrissey, U2, TV on the Radio, David Bazan, Bob Dylan, mewithoutyou...the list goes on. I saw a lot of greats, but in the end, my favorites of the year are as follows:
1. Over the Rhine - Granada Theater - As close to a perfect night of music as I've ever been a part of. In all of the times, I have seen OTR, they have never quite delivered what they did that night. The music was beautiful. Karin's voice was perfect. Sitting there with my wife taking it all in made for my best night of live music of the year.
2. The Mountain Goats - Granada Theater - No Pollution was the best performance I saw all year. Darnielle was sick, but that didn't stop him from laying it all out on stage.
3. David Wilcox - Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse - This was the second of two times I saw David Wilcox this year. It hadn't been a good week leading up to it. Like they tend to do the songs made me laugh, made me think, and ultimately settled a rough week down.
4. Woven Hand - Club Dada - I like the fact that Woven Hand keeps adding a member every time I see them. So far, it has corresponded to a better show every time.
5. My Bloody Valentine - Palladium Ballroom - It was good to see the legendary noise of MBV. I had heard about what to expect, but still wasn't quite prepared for what took place. For someone who loves a wall of sound and texture, it was perfect. They certainly aren't showmen, and you don't go to hear vocals, but as a live experience, it was extremely unique and fun.
6. Roy Clark and Ray Price - Bass Hall - I've been to a lot of shows, but this was the first one I've ever gotten to take my Dad to. The music was great, and it was a blast getting to hang out with Dad. Roy Clark is an old school entertainer, and Ray Price's voice was still incredible.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
My Favorites from 2008
A bunch of my favorite bands released albums this year, but all in all, it was a pretty disappointing year in new music for me. There were only a few albums that really came out of no where to hit heavy rotation.
1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science - Far and away my favorite new album of the year. I had always liked a song here any there on their previous albums, but they finally put one together that was great from start to finish.
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight - I am a sucker for thick Scottish accents and walls of sound. This album does both of them quite well and will stay stuck in your head for quite a while.
3. Woven Hand - Ten Stones - Continues the trend of more instrumentation with Woven Hand albums. It doesn't have the stand out songs that some of the previous albums have had, but it stands up well as a whole.
4. Why? - Alopecia - Not as good as Elephant Eyelash, but I still enjoy a little white boy hip hop more than I figure I should.
5. R.E.M. - Accelerate - It turned out to be a really good R.E.M. album. The first R.E.M. album in a long time I have kept in constant rotation.
6. The New Year - The New Year - A little more upbeat than anything they have ever done. I don't think it will stick with me quite like The End is Near, but it is quite an enjoyable album.
7. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line - This is a fun one. I don't listen to enough music like this these days.
8. The Notwist - The Devil You + Me - My token electronicish album of the year. Germans with some good beats, but not forgetting that melody is important.
9. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride - It isn't their best, but it is still full of songs that sound fun until you listen to the lyrics...and then you are sad.....and then you laugh.
10. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia - Brooding supergroup of sorts consisting of members of bands I never really cared about before. The album got a lot of spins when I wanted something really depressing.
I'd imagine if I rethink this list in a few months, things will change quite a bit. I have picked up quite a few 2o08 albums in the past month or so that I am liking. Maybe I'll even start liking the Fleet Foxes album that everyone else seems to think is the year's best.
Best Shows:
1. Bob Dylan at the House of Blues - This one had everything stacked against it. I was going by myself. I had to take my camera back to my car once I got to the door so I lost my place in line. I had heard that he was sometimes just plain awful live. I had to jump at the chance though, and I am glad I did. He wasn't much for talking, but he looked like he was having a lot of fun up there.
2. TV on the Radio at the Lakewood Theater - Glad my buddy was interested in seeing them. I would have skipped them again had he not wanted to go. I don't know that I'll be skipping them when they come back through.
3. Woven Hand at Lola's - The best Woven Hand show I have ever seen. So much intensity from such a small band.
4. Over the Rhine at the House of Blues - I had always wanted to see them in a smoky bar rather than a cornfield. I finally got my chance this year minus the smoke.
5. Danielson at the Granada - What more can I say....It was Danielson.
6. New York Dolls at the Granada - One of the few shows I have been to in a while that I have been the young guy at. They may only have two remaining members, but they tore it up. Many overweight former glam rockers, now accountants were enjoying this one, and so did I.
1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science - Far and away my favorite new album of the year. I had always liked a song here any there on their previous albums, but they finally put one together that was great from start to finish.
2. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight - I am a sucker for thick Scottish accents and walls of sound. This album does both of them quite well and will stay stuck in your head for quite a while.
3. Woven Hand - Ten Stones - Continues the trend of more instrumentation with Woven Hand albums. It doesn't have the stand out songs that some of the previous albums have had, but it stands up well as a whole.
4. Why? - Alopecia - Not as good as Elephant Eyelash, but I still enjoy a little white boy hip hop more than I figure I should.
5. R.E.M. - Accelerate - It turned out to be a really good R.E.M. album. The first R.E.M. album in a long time I have kept in constant rotation.
6. The New Year - The New Year - A little more upbeat than anything they have ever done. I don't think it will stick with me quite like The End is Near, but it is quite an enjoyable album.
7. Ra Ra Riot - The Rhumb Line - This is a fun one. I don't listen to enough music like this these days.
8. The Notwist - The Devil You + Me - My token electronicish album of the year. Germans with some good beats, but not forgetting that melody is important.
9. The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride - It isn't their best, but it is still full of songs that sound fun until you listen to the lyrics...and then you are sad.....and then you laugh.
10. The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia - Brooding supergroup of sorts consisting of members of bands I never really cared about before. The album got a lot of spins when I wanted something really depressing.
I'd imagine if I rethink this list in a few months, things will change quite a bit. I have picked up quite a few 2o08 albums in the past month or so that I am liking. Maybe I'll even start liking the Fleet Foxes album that everyone else seems to think is the year's best.
Best Shows:
1. Bob Dylan at the House of Blues - This one had everything stacked against it. I was going by myself. I had to take my camera back to my car once I got to the door so I lost my place in line. I had heard that he was sometimes just plain awful live. I had to jump at the chance though, and I am glad I did. He wasn't much for talking, but he looked like he was having a lot of fun up there.
2. TV on the Radio at the Lakewood Theater - Glad my buddy was interested in seeing them. I would have skipped them again had he not wanted to go. I don't know that I'll be skipping them when they come back through.
3. Woven Hand at Lola's - The best Woven Hand show I have ever seen. So much intensity from such a small band.
4. Over the Rhine at the House of Blues - I had always wanted to see them in a smoky bar rather than a cornfield. I finally got my chance this year minus the smoke.
5. Danielson at the Granada - What more can I say....It was Danielson.
6. New York Dolls at the Granada - One of the few shows I have been to in a while that I have been the young guy at. They may only have two remaining members, but they tore it up. Many overweight former glam rockers, now accountants were enjoying this one, and so did I.
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