My Favorite 75 Albums Of 2009 — Dec. 10
Posted By Ben W. on December 10, 2009
Three things you need to know about today’s albums on the countdown.
1. They’re all American.
2. They all want to sound British.
3. They all lay the tunes on so thick, you may need to listen to Metal Machine Music from now til Christmas to clear your head.
Proceed.
48. Album – Girls
The back story is great. Singer Christopher Owens grew up in the Children Of God cult; escaped only to fall prey to drug addiction; was rescued by a millionaire and brought to San Francisco; hooked up with producer Chet White to make this album, which rose to prominence this year, totally outside the industry, thanks to good old fashioned Internet hype. Even if only half of that is true, it’s one hell of a press release.
And the album itself? Eh, it’s pretty good, too. Owens isn’t very original. But his twisted take on 60s pop cliches are energetic, catchy and endearing.
47. Manners — Passion Pit
One of American indie’s “IT” bands of the year, Passion Pit delivered on the promise of last year’s Chunk Of Change EP with a fully realized debut album of impeccable pop. Personally, I can’t stand dude’s voice, and sometimes the sugary hooks get a little too sugary for my tastes (I actually like the slower cuts better than the singles). It is undeniably a solid record, though, full of consistently strong tunes.
46. Watch Me Fall — Jay Reatard
This is a strange, chaotic listen. Jay Reatard is so good at writing fast, melodic pop gems it can almost overwhelm the listener. The tracks have a tendency to blend into one another. No single here is great. But everything is good. And Jay is kind of pissed off throughout, giving it a very nice kind-of-pissed-off edge to the pop-tune shimmer.
Check back tomorrow for Day 11 of the Advent calendar countdown. We’ll be listing three albums every day from now through Christmas when we get to No. 1.
Click DAY ONE to view Nos. 75-73.
Click DAY TWO to view Nos. 72-70.
Click DAY THREE to view Nos. 69-67.
Click DAY FOUR to view Nos. 66-64.
Click DAY FIVE to view Nos. 63-61.
Click DAY SIX to view Nos. 60-58.
Click DAY SEVEN to view Nos. 57-55.
Click DAY EIGHT to view Nos. 54-52.
Click DAY NINE to view Nos. 51-49.
MY FAVORITE 75 ALBUMS OF 2009 (THE LIST SO FAR)
75. Man Of Aran (Soundtrack) – British Sea Power
74. March Of The Zapotec/Holland EP – Beirut
73. Changing Horses – Ben Kweller
72. It’s Frightening – White Rabbits
71. Living Thing – Peter Bjorn And John
70. Working On A Dream – Bruce Springsteen
69. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
68. Grrr… – Bishop Allen
67. Let The Dominoes Fall – Rancid
66. Kingdom Of Rust – Doves
65. Get Guilty – A.C. Newman
64. Hands – Little Boots
63. Further Complications — Jarvis Cocker
62. Ray Guns Are Not Just The Future — The Bird And The Bee
61. The Love Language — The Love Language
60. The Crying Light — Antony And The Johnsons
59. Don’t Stop — Annie
58. My Way — Ian Brown
57. Post Electric Blues — Idlewild
56. Dragonslayer — Sunset Rubdown
55. Middle Cyclone — Neko Case
54. Tongue ‘N Cheek — Dizzee Rascal
53. Art Brut Vs. Satan — Art Brut
52. Tonight: Franz Ferdinand — Franz Ferdinand
51. Phrazes For The Young — Julian Casablancas
50. It’s Not Me, It’s You — Lily Allen
49. The Hazards Of Love — The Decemberists
48. Album — Girls
47. Manners — Passion Pit
46. Watch Me Fall — Jay Reatard
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Girls is a sad example of hype making the band, rather than good songs. From what I could hear while listening to the album, he wrote ONE song and performed it about 8 different times. Terrible. Can’t wait for people to forget about this guy.