Best Music 2009: Albums

Welcome to the Best of 2009: the 11 months hindsight edition. In preparation for my 2010 best, I stumbled (OK maybe I knew it was still here) onto the crumbs of my 2009 list. Honestly, my heart wasn't into the ranking music thing last year, so after exhausting all my efforts into my songs of the year list, this one just seemed like one more thing to process, analyze and rate. Here's a brief recap of how it went down, because, dammit, I've got to do it:

20 Morrissey Years of Refusal This album was sort of "Moz By Numbers" but still built on the resurgence of Morrissey in the 00s. He also had a difficult 2009 (after collapsing on stage, the British press attacked his subsequent performances, calling him "bloated" among other things), and that earned him a sympathy spot.

19 Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion This was tops on the list of most of your modern musical publications. I liked it all right. I think it helps to think of them as a warped, modern Beach Boys.

18 Yo La Tengo Popular Songs Perhaps there are some unseen circumstances that I don't know about it, but every year Yo La Tengo puts out a proper album, I imagine it will land in my top 20 favorites by the end of the year.

17 Atlas Sound Logos Bradford Cox is a prolific and consistent musician of this generation. You might not always be able to pick out an absolute favorite, but most of his albums effortlessly wash over you. No effort needed, just relax and enjoy.

16 Wilco Wilco (The Album) I think with this pick, I was just happy to see Jeff Tweedy making decent music. Over 2010, this album faded away, but listening to it again I remembered why I charted it so high - it's an enjoyable (if maybe not too challenging) album, that recalls the finer moments on Being There. Clearly being compared to the Eagles was somewhat of a wake-up call, even if it's unclear (on many levels) what being compared to the Eagles means.

15 The Dead Weather Horehound In some situations doing a year recap with some perspective can be a handicap (shocking, I know). The Dead Weather (featuring 2009's illustration visage Jack White) followed up this album with a less impressive album this year. Did it taint their overall rating here - I think so, as much as I love the songs "Treat Me Like Your Mother" and "I Cut Like A Buffalo" I'm starting to see a pattern in non-Stripes White material. I like it all, but it's missing some of the experimental flourish of his main project. That said, I still had more fun with this album than any Raconteurs release, and 75 percent of anything else released in 09.

14 Wussy Wussy Until about mid-2009, part of my job was commenting on Cincinnati's music scene. It was great fun, however it did start to bias my feelings toward Cincinnati music. Well maybe. That's a conversation for another blog post. Anyway, a few years ago I decided I would resolve this bias by only including my absolute favorite Cincinnati release in this year end list. I couldn't do that in 09. I could try to explain that music would end up on my list no matter where I was living - these albums are just that good - buuuuut since I'm living in Cincinnati, you probably wouldn't believe me. Anyway, I do love this album and, sure, I've definitely seen this band play many, many times. I really think that if they toured outside of Cincy, they'd legitimately be considered a "National" act. And that's all I got.

 13 Bill Callahan Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle Sometimes the reason I do these lists is to try to highlight an artist I'm almost certain will get overlooked. Formerly Smog, and the first time releasing an album under his own name, I was floored by the stark beauty of this record. Easily his best since he almost, very barely reached the public consciousness with Knock Knock. Simple, artistic and deep, this is the only kind of "singer/songwriter" music I can get into these days.

12 Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix And so Phoenix blew up in 2009, impressively they didn't have to mess with their formula too much. Lisztomania/1901/Fences is the strongest start to any album in 09. They did that thing where they ended up on the cover of Spin and appeared on SNL making them at least as important as to Americans as Vampire Weekend or Muse, and the most U.S.-accepted French band since Air. I still prefer It's Never Been Like That, but what can you do.

11 Neko Case Middle Cyclone Neko came back with another round of songs about awkward relationships and female gigolos (is there a word for female gigolos?). I liked it a whole lot.

 10 DOOM Born Like This 2009 was kind of an off-year for hip-hop. (I don't know why I didn't include Method Man and Redman's Blackout! 2 on here - it was easily one of my favorites of the year. Oh well) I asked too much out of Jay-Z's Blueprint 3, so there were only 2 hip-hop albums that made a real impression on me. Another year, another reinvention for MF DOOM, simply going by DOOM on this album to further complicate your iTunes organization. Born Like This is sinister, not very jokey like other DOOM incarnations, as if the low profile he's been keeping for five years was warping him even more than his initial post-KMD retreat from the public eye. It's an intriguing album - more "rap" than "hip-hop" - DOOM has no interest in making you dance, he just wants you to listen.

9 Brian Olive Brian Olive In early 2009, I stood alone in an audience of around 30 in Shake It Records for an in-store performance of former Greenhorne Brian Olive after hearing his album in the store about a week before. He basically performed every song on the album and when he was finished, I had become a devoted fan. Equal parts garage and britpop, this debut is the much-needed twist that a lot of 60s garage band acolytes need to listen to (Cincinnati is full of these bands). It's not enough to faithfully reproduce these sounds, it's about taking them to another level, and that's what Olive did for me in this debut. Highly recommended for Cincinnatians and beyond.

8 DangerMouse and Sparklehorse Dark Night of the Soul When I was lucky enough to get the download of this album of the Internet last year, it catapulted to the top of my listening list. Generating a fair amount of hype for being kept from release by Capitol records (it was initially speculated that DangerMouse's Grey Album still pissed off the label, but later revealed that it was less interestingly about getting proper clearance for one of the samples), that a lot of critical sources were wary of being swept up and unfortunately therefore I believe slept on this album. Why? It's the best use of a variety of voices (Julian Casablancas, Frank Black, James Mercer, Vic Chesnutt, Suzanne Vega, a surprisingly good pair of performances by David Lynch) to an effect that actually makes sense within the album. Adding to it, the suicides of two of the performers (Mark Linkous and Chesnutt) before its proper release this year should make it a dark horse candidate for album of the year. Instead, it received middling praise and criticisms for being uneven. Maybe it gets lost in its ambition and is too high concept to be a true "album of the year," but at the end of the year, it still holds up as one of the most unique, cohesive albums I heard in either 2009 or 2010.

7 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Almost crushed by its own affable good nature, TPoBPaH (yeah, that's awk) is a excellent debut that owes a debt to alternative 80s bands, but adds enough spin to avoid being another retread. They also might be able to sneak under the radar enough to avoid the pressure of a follow-up thanks to the next band on this list.

6 The xx xx I got this album for Christmas last year, I knew a lot about the band and had heard some of the songs, so I knew I'd like it. I only found out as much in January of this year. So, up it jumps to number six on this list. Haunting and beautiful, listening to The xx is like listening to a lost band from 1987 that recorded a song for a John Hughes movie, then dropped off the planet. As the year went along, the band's popularity exploded, winning the Mercury Prize and - a mark of mainstream acceptance in my book - being sold in Target stores. "VCR" and "Crystalised" still pop up on my mixes and I can see listening to them for years to come.

5 The Flaming Lips Embryonic I love this sprawling, dark album deciding to change their formula again was the best thing The Flaming Lips could do in 2009. It makes an impression in the same way their last great album - The Soft Bulletin - did 10 years ago - even if that impression is much scarier and bleak than the more optimistic Bulletin. I've tried to decipher it -and have decided that's pretty much impossible. Fortunately it keeps you entertained. I regret not being able to put "Watching The Planets" on my favorite songs of 09 list. Trance-y, in a good way. I know, I didn't think that was possible either.

4 Yeah Yeah Yeahs It's Blitz My lineup for the top 5 in 09 is constantly shuffling in my head, but I'm satisfied with the picks themselves. Like everyone, I loved Phoenix and (eventually, begrudgingly) began to grow more impressed with Animal Collective, but for me - it was difficult to ignore what is the YYY's best album, which one rarely says about a band's 3rd proper album. Easy to listen to on repeat with instantly alluring singles ("Zero" and "Heads Will Roll") I thought for awhile nothing would top this album in early 2009.

3 St. Vincent Actor Resisting acclaimed artists is what I do well. I skipped Annie Clark's debut Marry Me, despite its sparkling reviews, dismissing it as another album filled with neurotic songwriting backed by pretty vocals and precious accompaniment. I was waaaay wrong. And fortunately, her follow-up is equally strong, so I can use this as an opportunity to take back those misconceptions. Actor is an amazing album - I believe I listened to it more than any other album in 2009, it contains the best 2-3-4-5-6 run of any album I've heard in awhile. The are guitar freak-outs, dark humor, an emotional core, and each song tops the one before. It also acts as an "album" - breaking it apart can only weaken it. I went back and bought Marry Me earlier this year, and can officially stand by my claim: my previous, St. Vincent-disliking self was an idiot.

2 Raekwon Only Built for Cuban Linx... Pt. II Another album that I really only started listening to in 2010, I wondered, after all the build up, how good could this actually be? Well, the answer turns out to be "way effing beyond good." I have never understood the hype behind the first album, preferring the debuts of GZA, ODB and Method Man - Cuban Linx: The Orig (my title) ranks 4th. But this album is an instant classic, way further in its cinematic scope than the first, actually working well as an "album sequel" (which generally seems impossible) and loaded with guest appearances (everyone from Busta Rhymes to Slick Rick) that keep things fresh through it's massive 22-song scope. Believe me, I've listened to 22-song albums before - you're not getting more, you're just getting more filler. This album is lean and it had impact from the first time I listened to it. An outstanding achievement and definitely one of the best in 2009. It's influenced rolled over into 2010 - and has re-established Raekwon as someone I get excited to see popping up as a guest verse. He's on a roll.

1 Grizzly Bear Veckatimest As I've established a number of times throughout this review, one great album can completely revise your opinion on an artist. For me, this was 2008's In Ear Park by Grizzly Bear offshoot, Department of Eagles. It managed to hit #2 on my 2008 best album list and made me seriously re-evaluate Grizzly Bear, a band I had written off for reasons I can't really remember at this time. While my ear is drawn to a lot of different types of music, I'm still a sucker for a strong indie rock album with song after song revealing more as you listen to them again and again. Veckatimest, ridiculous album title and all, was that record for me in 2009.

It was a weird year for me, and I found myself drawn to songs that comfort and gave me some sense that things would get better. I'm happy that I'm able to say that I've since rebounded. My confidence rebounded in 2010 and was able to get back into artists like Raekwon and The xx. But in the time when I didn't have the cash to buy new albums and found myself more dealing with real life than with the world of music, I found what I needed in the music I already had. And Grizzly Bear's Veckatimest was always tops among those albums. Although, um... I must admit - I wasn't crazy about their performance Pitchfork Festival that year - but that can't really be blamed on them - my view was terrible, the sound was wrong... OK well anyway, you get the idea.

So there you have it. Thanks for reading, if you haven't heard/bought all these albums yet...what's wrong with you!? It's been, like, over a year now. Hopefully next year's lists won't be quite so delayed.

Best Music 2009: Honorable Mentions

Reissues of the Year
I love the Beatles, but I didn't have $250 to hear the subtle nuances in sound production between the original 1989 and the 2009 remastered versions of "Polythene Pam." I didn't have the cash to pick up the extended reissues of Neil Young, Kraftwerk or Radiohead, but I did have about 15 bucks to pick up each of these this year:

1. The Vaselines: Enter the Vaselines
For a band that gets most of their non-Glasgow love from being "that band that Kurt Cobain likes," the Vaselines' music holds up really well 20 years later. Sharp writing about overtly taboo subjects (i.e. shagging horses), the duo's best known songs via covers ("Son of a Gun," "Molly's Lips," "Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam") are lo-fi gems in the hands of their original creators and work even better with their guy/girl dynamic. The additional live performances are actually pretty entertaining as well.

2. Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson 
In 1971, Serge Gainsbourg reached the peak of his talents with this themed songcycle about lusting after a young girl who then dies. Y'know, the classic sad, touching and creepy French tale. You lose some of that lechery in translation, and Serge's voice just becomes another instrument in a particularly sharp band. The opening bassline alone probably influenced thousands of the bands you like. In this age, it's particularly bold to reissue an 28-minute album with no bonus materials, but you'll have to trust me, it's just that good.

EPs of the Year

Short and sweet, I didn't make EPs eligible for my top albums list, so here are a couple noteworthy of honorable mention. I sang their praises in the song portion of the 2009 recap, but in case you missed it, here they are again:
1. Bon Iver Blood Bank
2. The Breeders Fate To Fatal

Honorary Rap Sequel of the Year
Method Man & Redman Blackout! 2
The Wu were apparently feeling pretty nostalgic this year. On top of the "Top 20" worthy Cuban Linx 2,Method Man re-teamed with Redman to create the second best rap sequel of the year. Sorry, Jay-Z. Despite snagging maybe one too many lines from Notorious B.I.G. and Tribe Called Quest, the duo creates a consistently catchy follow-up and it features at least one amazing track - the standout "City Lights" featuring UGK's Bun B. Between this album, his contributions to the last Wu-Tang album and his underrated 2006 album, Meth has been sharp as ever and he always seems comfortable pairing with Redman. Both MCs play off each other so naturally and their matchup always breeds success – a Blackout! 3 is pretty much a given at this point.

More Local Music of the Year
The music scene is Cincinnati has grown deeper, diverse and more skilled in the five years I've lived here. It's easily the strongest original music city I've ever lived in. There are literally too many good band to mention in this space, so I'm going to focus on a few bands that didn't make my top 20, but released excellent full-length albums in 2009:

1 Pomegranates Everybody, Come Outside!
This young indie pop start-up had an amazing 2009, taking the stage as opener for a number of national touring acts, including the Walkmen. Their second full-length album followed up their upbeat and dreamlike style that recalls the Flaming Lips and Polyphonic Spree while following their own set of rules. The chipper title track sets the mood from the start, eagerly coercing out of your cranky Lenoard Cohen-only mope.

2 Bad Veins Bad Veins
One of Cincinnati's better-known indie rock bands broke through with their debut disc in 2009. Bad Veins did an excellent job living up to expectations, expanding their sound beyond their comparatively lo-fi live performances, approaching near arena aspirations on several songs. For me, it's powerful album closer "Go Home" that provides both emotional heft and repeat value that will be key to their future successes.

3 The Chocolate Horse We Don't Stand On Ceremony
The Chocolate Horse has one of the more experimental and inventive sounds I've heard in Cincinnati, largely backed by the vocals of Jason Snell, who can crank up the intensity to match freak folk's finest. Not afraid of varying musical styles or occasionally adding trumpet and flutes into the mix, the band produces a natural and effortless collection of layered songs that often seem to be seconds away from flying off their hinges, then hang on at the last second. In particular, "Every Day Gets Hard" deserves a mention on any Best of 2009 list.

Compilation of the Year
Dark Was the Night
In the age of digital downloads, compilations tend to take the biggest of the big hits - I suppose the idea of someone shuffling around songs you already have seems like a pretty pointless task. Even the collection of previously unreleased songs (aka: the chafe) sounds better in theory than in practice. That's what make Dark Was The Night such an impressive feat. A combination of quality artists with quality offerings (New Pornos, Decemberists, Grizzly Bear) and some inspired collaborations (Ben Gibbard & Feist, The Books & José González and David Byrne actually makes the Dirty Projectors listenable) create something you don't see much these days: an essential compilation.

The "Not Enough Time In 2009" Shout Outs
Regardless of reviews, there are several albums by artists that I enjoy, but just didn't get a chance to hear this year. Unfortunate. Are they essential? I have no idea. I mean, probably not, who knows? Whether they didn't seem to make a dent in critical opinion or the album sounded promising but I only got to hear a couple of song samples, my interest in these artists is strong enough that I felt they deserved some sort of mention. So here it is. Sorry I missed out, I'll catch ya in 2010:
1 Annie Don't Stop
2 Doves Kingdom of Rust
3 The Twilight Sad Forget The Night Ahead
4 The Swell Season Strict Joy
5 Sally Shapiro My Guilty Pleasure
6 Real Estate Real Estate
7 Jay Reatard Watch Me Fall
8 Japandroids Post-Nothing
9 Mos Def The Ecstatic
10 Major Lazer Guns Don't Kill People – Lazers Do

Best Music 2009: Songs

Wow, 2009. For music, it was an excellent year. It was a year of fancy Beatles reissues and the Vaselines got the cool retrospective they deserved. People decided to start hating Kanye West for interrupting Taylor Swift on the VMAs. Yeah, that's right - Taylor Swift. And yes, you heard me right: the VMAs. This was depressing on a number of levels. Did I get annoyed at the attention heaped upon critical darlings Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective? Sure. Did I get annoyed when I saw Spin proclaim Kings of Leon "band of the year" and feature Caleb Followill wearing a dumb hat on its cover? Oh yes, definitely.

For me, 2009 was a year of peaks and (mostly) pitfalls and, as a result, my selections are probably more a reflection of my personality than the moderate critical distance I usually try to keep. More slow songs. More sad songs. Less hip hop, and more moody music featuring female vocalists – though I think this might have been a trend in music in general and not my less fun/more mope listening tastes.

Initially, I didn't even really feel like I had the overview I usually get, but after checking out the typical round of music publication recaps – half of which seemed more obsessed with reviewing the entire decade – I think I've heard enough to list my own favorites of the year.

So with that tiny disclaimer, here are the 25 songs that warmed our hearts in 2009:

25 “Lucky Old Moon” – Castanets
Much like Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Castanets is a one-bearded-man experimental folk project by Portland's Raymond Raposa. In some ways, I prefer his style as he unabashedly adds some electronic weirdness into the mix (as opposed to his fellow mountain men, who tend to be folk purists). This song and the album it came from may not be the best entry point for Raposa's music, but I think this track's spacey doodling might come in handy when laser light shows come back in style in 2020.

24 “Away With Murder” – Camera Obscura
Digging a little deeper into Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career, there's something about the way this song lopes along casually and sadly that really appeals to me. Or maybe I just like the way the Scottish say the word "murder."

23 “Ulysses” – Franz Ferdinand
When you needed a new song in February to dance to, Franz Ferdinand was there with this catchy tune, even though it admittedly relied a bit on the standard FF formula. Now with the way new music cycles these days, Alex Kapranos & Co. have all but been forgotten in the year's recaps and summaries. Don't worry guys – I remembered... um, well I remembered this song at least.

22 “Sharing” – Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow has had a history of self-sabotage, and while the likes of Snow Patrol are getting rich off of his sound, Lou toils in somewhat obscurity, playing second banana in the re-formed Dinosaur Jr and revving up and winding down his various projects (Sebadoh, Folk Implosion). When he releases a solo album under his own name, it almost seems like he's not being random enough. Goodnight Unknown fares better than previous effort Emoh, because he varies the tempo a bit more, like this song, a ramped-up effort that may have been improved from the effect of hanging out with J Mascis for extended periods of time again.

21 “Black Hearted Love” – PJ Harvey & John Parish
Another dependable early 90s artist, PJ Harvey also seems to be looking for ways to de-emphasize her popularity since hitting the mid-sized time with her breakthrough Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. After a return to lo-fi punk and an album of piano songs, it seemed like meeting up with John Parish again was just a natural way to freak out the new fans again. Instead, it provided PJ with this song, her most accessible in a long time. Fortunately for PJ, there were plenty of other songs on the album meant to alienate and disturb.

20 Peter Bjorn and John – “Nothing To Worry About”
Much like Franz Ferdinand, Peter Bjorn and John succumbed to higher expectations of its previous works and produced a decent, but unspectacular collection of songs in 2009. Fortunately in every average album, there's at least a couple of gems, and “Nothing To Worry About” shows the glimmer of promise that we haven't seen the last of PB&J. And if they're going to fail, at least they'll make it interesting. As with much of Living Thing, the song leans a lot on atmosphere and not so much on lyrics. Fortunately the drums and children's chorus are enough to keep

19 “Gazillion Ear” – DOOM
Wow. What a weird song. DOOM (another year, another alias) came out of hiding and did what an artist whose been around for 20+ years needs to do - he changed up his sound. Sure, the main elements are still here: pop culture refs, movie samples, the supervillain alter ego. But something has changed - the vocals sound as raw as demo tapes and Dilla (who, posthumously, has been busier than ever) digs up an old Moroder Midnight Express sample - which suddenly sends the song into a U-turn without warning. Thanks for keeping it weird, DOOM.

18 “Wilco (The Song)” – Wilco
I'm not sure what was up exactly with Wilco's last couple of albums, but I didn't want much to do with it. In fact, I was skeptical when I saw their self-titled song/album being touted as a "return to form." I can't be certain difference between this album and A Ghost is Born and Sky Blue Sky (mainly because I never even bothered to listen to them), but from the titles alone, it's clear that they've moved out of their heavy, self-serious period and started having fun again. Thank the gods.

17 “Happiness Bleeds” – Wussy
Cincinnati's Wussy is one of those amazing bands that I have the good fortune of seeing perform live on a pretty regular basis. Nationally, their music will usually be shut out of year-end lists in favor of the bloghouse bands from Brooklyn, but they've sto;; beem able to carve out an impressive run of albums, despite their Midwest pedigree and regardless of buzz status. Wussy's latest rounds up a collection of broken love songs set to the ramshackle vocals of Chuck Cleaver and Lisa Walker. Also I'm a sucker for a good "la la la" chorus.

16 “Quick Canal” – Atlas Sound (featuring Laetitia Sadier)
Not the epic indie pairing of Bradford Cox and Panda Bear – I prefer this 8-minute hazy song sketch with Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier taking the lead vocals. My vote for one of the more beautiful songs in 09.

15 “Crystalised” – The xx
Weighing hype into your musical tastes is difficult – basing your interest on what a particular blog or music publication says can be seen as shallow, but sometimes, in an effort to discover new music, you need to at least somewhat rely on the praises of these sources. It doesn't always work. For example, for as much praise as The Dirty Projectors get, I still pretty much hate them. Same with fellow critical darlings Passion Pit. Some stuff I get though, which leads us to The xx, whose male/female vocal dynamic and haunting guitar lines that show there's still some creativity to be dug out of the post-punk well.

14 “Daniel” – Bat For Lashes
I couldn't get into Natasha Khan's debut as Bat For Lashes, but this year's followup Two Suns, changed my tune. The whole album holds up surprisingly well after repeat listens and is anchored by "Daniel" a song that sorta sounds like a lost single in the Europop prime of the late 80s.

13 “Blood Bank” – Bon Iver
The growing interest in rustic folkies these days must be a sign of the times. There's something about locking yourself away in a cabin alone with a guitar and emerging three months later with a uniquely original album's worth of songs that must strike a romantic chord with us in these unbelievably miserable economic times. So to do it well is impressive, and Justin Vernon proved again why he deserves to be on the top of everyone's list. Although he only released an EP this year, everything he touched turned gold - all four songs (led by this one) are amazing, and everything he turned up on (from the Dark Was The Night comp to the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack) was enhanced by his presence.

12 “This Tornado Loves You” – Neko Case
Anytime Neko Case releases something new, you can bet that it will end up somewhere on "best of" lists everywhere. Middle Cyclone was responsible for so many great songs, it was difficult to pick just one, so I stuck with the consensus and added this gem to my list.

11 “Fate to Fatal” – The Breeders
Another great EP from 2009, The Breeders also hit a creative stride of recent. A highlight from this year was seeing the Deal sisters perform a in-store set at Shake It Records in support of this EP and Record Store Day.

10 “The Day Is Coming (Sainte Marie's Dream)” – Brian Olive
Speaking of in-stores, I also got my first real sample of Cincinnati artist Brian Olive's debut album at a criminally less packed CD release show at the same record store. I'm a big supporter of Cincinnati's local music scene, but this album in particular seems to have real potential to reach audiences on a much larger scale. If Blur's Damon Albarn took a time machine back to the late 60s and fronted a garage band, they'd probably hope to produce something that sounds as good as this.

09 “The Fear” – Lily Allen
I'm a huge fan of Lily Allen's debut and was unfazed by the outpouring of negative press she's received since. Even still, I couldn't get into followup It's Not Me, It's You as much as I was hoping I would. I'm all for changing up your style, but the album's songs were generally boring, and worse yet, grating at times. This was particularly disappointing after hearing "The Fear" a few times in advance of buying the disc. This song is everything that change of direction should have been, keeping hold of Allen's wit as a songwriter and adding a more ambient, but still pop-based soundtrack.

08 “1901” – Phoenix
Did Phoenix blow up this year, or did everyone just really, really want them to? Seems like they did everything short of turning up on mainstream alternative radio to increase their profile in 2009. In addition to performing three (!) songs on Saturday Night Live, they became critical darlings, usually popping up 4th behind Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear and the Dirty Projectors as alt artists of the year. While Phoenix doesn't quite eclipse Grizzly Bear in my esteem (more on that later) they definitely turn out more listenable songs than the other two artists in that group. Check out "1901" to see what I mean.

07 “Already Home” – Jay-Z (featuring Kid Cudi)
The Blueprint 3 is proof that self-proclaiming your album is amazing doesn't make it so. It's still a half-decent album, starting out strong then dipping into an absurdly bad second half. So bad that it took seeing Jigga live to realize that this song (buried between two waaaaaaaay lesser tracks) is actually pretty good. So good, in fact, that I decided to rank it over equally excellent Jay-Z songs "D.O.A" and "Empire State of Mind" just to give it some of the attention it deserves. The only criticism? OK, maybe he says "already" a few too many times. Part of what makes this song is the hook, delivered by Kid Cudi, who is sort of "on the verge" right now. In fact, he's performing at a sold out show here in Cincinnati this week.

06 “Young Adult Friction” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Now we're at the "it's-so-good-the-song-got-stuck-in-my-head" point of the list. Songs that reach this stature, are also the songs that I usually think of when I start making this list. In terms of debuts, I think The Pains of Being Pure at Heart beats out The xx, if only because at least there's a lighter lift from the doom and gloom. This song was instantly catchy to me and stayed with me through the highs and lows of this year.

05 “Cold Outside” – Raekwon (featuring Ghostface Killah & Suga Bang)
Raekwon proved this year that album sequels can, in fact, be successful, even if they happened to be released 14 years after the original. Cuban Linx II is full of highlights, but I'm going with the non-single "Cold Outside" which is about as major motion picture a song can be without the visuals. Ghost and Rae sound as invigorated as ever as they divvy up the raps and Suga Bang provides the hook by singing "cold outside" so passionately, icicles start forming on your speakers.

04 “I Cut Like A Buffalo” – The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is better than The Raconteurs. There, I said it. This is just a (likely unpopular) opinion, but for me, I think it has something to do with the collaborators - for me Brendan Benson's occasionally bland, Beatle-copping adds too much sugar and cream to Jack White's black coffee. Art-damaged Alison Mosshart is a better fit. When the two trade vocals, there's an added sexual ambiguity – at times, you can't really tell who's singing what and the songs tread a bluesier, grittier line. "I Cut Like A Buffalo" turns up the ambiguity and contains the most entertaining vocal line of the year. (Btw, Jack provides the inspiration for this year's best music illustration).

03 “Actor Out of Work” – St. Vincent
Clocking in a little over 2 minutes and busting out with a pace that somehow mirrored her rise in 2009, St. Vincent's lead single from second album Actor showed that Annie Clark had the songwriting chops and ear for a tune that would keep her from a one-album wonder. Though the album is filled with amazing songs, this is the most accessible, and the likely the gateway to win St. Vincent boatloads of new fans.

02 “Heads Will Roll” – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
And now the final two: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were another excellent surprise this year. It's Blitz might be their most solid album ever and it contains two of the year's best singles. "Zero" might be the more uplifting of the singles, but I slightly prefer the rougher "Heads Will Roll," which commanded us to "dance til we're dead." Dancing doesn't get much more intense than that.

01 “Two Weeks” – Grizzly Bear
After some reasonably obscure picks in my top ten, I decided to ease back with probably one of the more popular indie rock songs of 2009. This thing made the rounds, tv shows, commercials . It's an amazing song though, Grizzly Bear is one of those bands, like the Shins or Arcade Fire before, that impressively creates an established hauntingly beautiful palette of rules for their music, then twists things to create even more haunting and beautiful moments. While it took side project Department of Eagles to realize their talents, Grizzly Bear have really come into their own. So here's Song of the Year 2009: "Two Weeks" complete with creepy video:

Let's review the Beatles: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart's Club Band

Album: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart's Club Band (1967)
Purchased: Freshman Year, College
One-liner: Having completely shed their mop-top image, the Beatles revolutionize music with this critically-acclaimed pop masterpiece.



Review: When I first got to college, I still considered myself a casual Beatles fan. With Sgt. Pepper's, I felt a sort of ending. This was the last of the Beatles' albums with which I was familiar, and I made the decision that this was where I'd stop. I mean, why would I buy those old-timey Beatles albums? Well, more on that later.

Though I dropped down cash for it, I didn't really like Sgt. Pepper's as much as the previous albums I had purchased. My theory about buying up the back catalog of old groups that have long disbanded is that, like any band you love, you start to crave "new material." So "new to you" ends up being good enough; you just want to hear a variation of that group's sound again. Hey, that's why I own Bossanova. Of course, these days you can download an entire career of an artist in a heartbeat. Though I have a theory about why you shouldn't do that. In short, I have a lot of theories.

For me, an equally powerful appeal to the Beatles was their album artwork. As an amateur artist, I was more drawn to the art than the music initially, and that's especially the case with Sgt. Pepper's. I was so obsessed with the album's surreal crowd scene that one high school summer, I created a poster-sized parody using a cast of comic strip characters I was drawing at the time. Seeing it today is a little daunting, it's a shrine to myself as a teenager, with the caricatures of my favorite celebrities rounding out the cast of onlookers. And, seriously, this was an album I heard maybe three times in high school.

I shouldn't neglect the music on Sgt. P, because it grew on me. I would nominate "A Day In The Life" if we were having one of those college, "best song ever" types of conversations and I'd say it's difficult to find a better example of the John/Paul collaboration in practice. John's in top form throughout, Paul includes a couple of his best songs ("Fixing a Hole," "Lovely Rita") George and Ringo's contributions are slight, but valuable. George Martin gets crazy. It's an album that has none of the "Beatle hits" and yet still holds up well. After Sgt. Peppers, I became less a listener to singles and more a listener of albums. No more greatest hits albums for me. ...OK, fewer greatest hits albums.

Capitol must've considered this the most important of their CD releases, because they actually made an effort to include a mini booklet about the making of the album, including a "who's who on the cover" key. I got wrapped up in this tiny, jewelcase-sized book. Outside of their music, I didn't know much about this Beatles band, and this would be my introduction to them as individuals. It wouldn't be long before I started reading anything I could get my hands on. The casual fan would transition into the fanatic: By the time I graduated, I would buy 7 more Beatles albums.

Rating: Classic. It's true because important people say so. I dare you to dub it not classic. You will be shunned. Oh, and minus 50 points for the grating "When I'm Sixty Four."

Final Word: I love John Lennon's take on the "theme album" aspect of this record. Essentially, his take is that it's crap. And I agree. Beyond the opening, "A Little Help From My Friends" and the reprise, I challenge you to come up with how these and the other songs on the album tie together. Points for creativity.

Next up: Let It Be and Pastmasters, Vol. 2

Let's review the Beatles: The White Album

Album: The Beatles (aka The White Album) (1968)
Purchased: High School
One-liner: Growing tension within the band leads to a sprawling double album and, after conflicts over everything from to track order to cover art, it is released in a plain white sleeve.



Review: As with everything, the details of the first and the last are always the strongest. And the rest can be a little ...blurry. Here's what I do know: This is the last Beatles CD I bought in high school. I bought it shortly after Abbey Road and the exact whereabouts are unknown (though if you said the mall or Target, you'd probably be close). I could "cold case" some other details: for example I could tell you that this was likely a big purchase for me – I didn't do double albums outside of box sets and 2-CD greatest hits collections. It was also likely picked up due to the impression it made on me during that influential listening day mentioned in my Magical Mystery Tour review. Chances are I was sick of turning the album over all the time, a process that doubled with the White Album.

Other than this being my favorite Beatles album, there's not much in the way of embarrassing life stories tied to this record. I love that in spite of (or maybe because of) their inner turmoil, they were able to create such a unique and distinct work. You can copy the Beatles sound, but you can't mimic what they were going through when they made the White Album. Other bands don't make this album at all, they just break up.

Wait, wait – I just remembered an embarrassing story. A couple years later, I decided that the White Album-era John Lennon look was where it was at. Fortunately for me, I was halfway there. I was pasty and wore glasses, so only a couple of steps were needed. Step one: I picked up a pair granny glasses. Step two: I grew out my hair (long, but not long enough really). Bam. Instant Lennon. My specific inspiration was Lennon's inside cover photo on the White Album. Soon enough I was taking idol worship to that next, Single White Female level:

So, yeah, my fashion sense was a little off. And I liked ironically holding pepper shakers. Be yourself, kids. That's the message for today. And I suppose you could say that's the message of the White Album too. Tied that back around nicely.

Rating: Favorite Beatles album. Six billion stars.

Final thoughts: The poster that originally appeared in the album is mercilessly butchered in the original CD version. Disappointing. Also, while I can still pretty much listen to the whole thing from beginning to end, "Birthday" and "Honey Pie" are tough to get through.

Next up: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Let's review the Beatles: Abbey Road

Album: Abbey Road (1969)
Purchased: High School
One liner: After the failed documentary project Get Back, The Beatles return to the studio, get "back to basics" and record one more classic record.



Review: Being ever-dutiful to understanding Beatles history, I, um, bought the band's last studio album (Let It Be was recorded prior to Abbey Road, but the material was released after) second. Keep in mind I'm still just an economical high schooler, so I believe the real logic here was collecting "Come Together," "Something" and "Here Comes the Sun" in one swoop.

A slight step up, I bought this disc at an independent retailer... um, that just happened to be at the mall. Since we were living in a time before the Internet, my strategy for buying CDs would be to bounce from record store to Target to record store seeing who had the best deals. Minus the Merle Hay mall, none of my usual spots had Abbey Road. And I reaaaally wanted this album, there just wasn't a moment to spare. So I ponied up $16 (a small fortune) at Disc Jockey (or whatever it was called) and picked up Abbey Road. Though I had heard it a number of times before already, it was still exciting hearing my copy for the first time.

This was groundbreaking stuff for young Slagle. I became completely obsessed with Abbey Road. The singles, the Side Two medley, the cover art, "Her Majesty," etc. etc. I hadn't gotten too cynical yet, so even ditties like "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" and "Octupus's Garden" passed the test. For awhile, it acted as the benchmark I used to judge all albums and the experience of hearing it could possibly be traced to why I'm still obsessed with music today. Well, that and Dark Side of the Moon. And the Digital Underground's Sex Packets. What? There was a lot going on.

Today, I tend to jump in on the abuse Paul McCartney gets for being the most saccharine Beatle. But that wasn't always the case. Ah, high school. Music had a handy way of providing escape from the awkward period that was my sophomore through senior year. My parents' divorce, a new job and unrequited crushes bounced around in my 16-year-old, hormone-addled brain. Only then could Paul reach me – and he did – with a song called "You Never Give Me Your Money" (side two, track three). Why? Even a cursory pass over the lyrics and you realize this song had absolutely nothing to do with my problems. It doesn't help my case that it ends with John Lennon repeating "one two three four five six seven/all good children go to heaven." Eh?

But in the right mindset, I guess you can apply anything to anything. And in this case the final verse (before the counting part) contained a fairly generic, but upbeat promise about packing up your bags and blowing town with some floozy. I guess the idea appealed to me. In fact, in doing research for this project, I was able to dig up this sappy little mixtape (which also contained The Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" and some ELO songs). The name of this little love bomb actually refs the song – I called it "One Sweet Dream." Fortunately I think this is as cheesy as I got, but I'll admit it: the song got to me. Guilty as charged. You win this time, Paul.

Rating: For still ranking in my top 3 Beatles albums: 1,200 points. For containing the most iconic image on an album cover ever (i.e., see the logo I created for this series): 500 points. For making me a sappy stooge in high school: -10 points.

Final thought: I really like the song "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," which usually puts me in the minority. I guess I can see why. Next to "Revolution 9," it was the longest song the band ever released (7:47) and its lyrics contain roughly 12 words total. But hey, that just makes it easier to sing along.

Next up: The Beatles (The White Album)