My Favorite 75 Albums Of 2009 — Dec. 24
Posted By Ben W. on December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve!
One day left.
Better get to reading about 2009 albums.
6. Two Dancers — Wild Beasts
I wouldn’t call it a mutually influenced movement, but for whatever reasons, many of the best indie albums this year were of the quiet variety, including this wonderful second album from Wild Beasts. They employ very rhythmic guitars and even the occasional dance beat, yet never create a sound that gets especially loud or energetic. Instead, they manage a surrealistic world of calm tension. The songs are as sexy as they are sad; as funny as they are isolated. It’s a bizarre mix and one that I suspect will attract listeners for years to come.
5. Troubadour – K’naan
I love this album. K’naan drifts between old-school rap to new-school rap to reggae to dancehall to R&B to straight-up pop crossover territory and never sounds anything less than himself. His background — growing up in war-torn Mogadishu before emigrating to Toronto — gives him a unique perspective among hip hop. And though he only began to learn English in his early teens, his lyrics consistently entertain with puns, creative lines and heart-felt stories. Plus, I’m gonna swoon for any record that contains the lyric: “We from the only place that’s worst than Kandahar, and yeah that’s kinda hard.”
4. Veckatimest — Grizzly Bear
The internal argument about this one keeps me up at night…
“Man, I hate these hipster robots. Don’t have a brain of their own. Just go buy what Pitchfork tells them. Must listen to Pitchfork. I hate Grizzly Bear. They’re so boring. If I wanted to fall asleep, I’d drink some NyQuil. I mean, fine, I’ll give you that “Two Weeks” and “While You Wait For The Others” are two of the best songs this decade. But a lot of albums have songs that good. What’s that? Their vocals? Yeah, yeah, I’ll grant you that. They have some of the best vocal arrangements this side of the Four Freshmen. And sure, the record is perfectly produced to accentuate mood and dynamics. The drums really sound amazing when they get loud. No! I’m not tearing up. What are you talking about? I have a cold. I mean, sure, of course there are moments on this record that are so beautiful I do feel like crying. But that’s not what’s happening now. Fucking hipsters. Fucking Pitchfork. I’m not a robot!”
Check back tomorrow for Day 25 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.
Click DAY 10 to view Nos. 48-46.
Click DAY 11 to view Nos. 45-43.
Click DAY 12 to view Nos. 42-40.
Click DAY 13 to view Nos. 39-37.
Click DAY 14 to view Nos. 36-34.
Click DAY 15 to view Nos. 33-31.
Click DAY 16 to view Nos. 30-28.
Click DAY 17 to view Nos. 27-25.
Click DAY 18 to view Nos. 24-22.
Click DAY 19 to view Nos. 21-19.
Click DAY 20 to view Nos. 18-16.
Click DAY 21 to view Nos. 15-13.
Click DAY 22 to view Nos. 12-10.
Click DAY 23 to view Nos. 9-7.
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
45. 200 Million Thousand – The Black Lips
44. Now We Can See – The Thermals
43. Scars – Basement Jaxx
42. Ghostdini The Wizard Of Poetry In The Emerald City — Ghostface Killah
41. Yesterday And Today — The Field
40. The Duckworth Lewis Method — The Duckworth Lewis Method
39. Merriweather Post Pavilion — Animal Collective
38. Love 2 — Air
37. I’m Going Away — Fiery Furnaces
36. Junior — Royksopp
35. Ignore The Ignorant — The Cribs
34. Wall Of Arms — The Maccabees
33. Ready For The Weekend — Calvin Harris
32. A Brief History Of Love — The Big Pink
31. Temporary Pleasure — Simian Mobile Disco
30. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — Phoenix
29. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum — Kasabian
28. UGK 4 Life — UGK
27. In And Out Of Control — The Raveonettes
26. Primary Colours — The Horrors
25. Goodnight Oslo – Robyn Hitchcock
24. Face Control – Handsome Furs
23. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
22. Attention Deficit – Wale
21. It’s Blitz! — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
20. Mo Beauty — Alec Ounsworth
19. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart — The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
18. Popular Songs — Yo La Tengo
17. The Liberty Of Norton Folgate — Madness
16. Man On The Moon: The End Of Day — Kid Cudi
15. Wilco The Album — Wilco
14. The xx — The xx
13. Dark Days/Light Years — Super Furry Animals
12. My Maudlin Career – Camera Obscura
11. Grace/Wastelands – Pete Doherty
10. BLACKsummer’snight – Maxwell
9. Yes – Pet Shop Boys
8. Born Like This – DOOM
7. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. 2 – Raekwon
6. Two Dancers — Wild Beasts
5. Troubadour — K’naan
4. Veckatimest — Grizzly Bear
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