Monthly Archives: December 2009

The 11 Best Songs By Vic Chesnutt

Posted on by
59
Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day.  The same day that respresents the birth of history’s most famous martyr.  Vic is a martyr now is his right.  A man who was plagued for most of his adult life with stockpiled medical bills that he couldn’t pay, dies during the same week that America passes a health care bill.  Many opponents of public health care have said that no one in America dies because they can’t afford medical care.  They should have told that to Vic…if they had…he might still be alive.
 
RIP Vic Chesnutt.
 
Here are the 11 Best Songs By Vic Chesnutt:
 
1.  Supernatural (Drunk)
2.  Panic Pure (West of Rome)
3.  Betty Lonely (Is The Actor Happy)
4.  Where Were You (West of Rome)
5.  Coward (At The Cut)
6.  Sponge (West of Rome)
7.  Maiden (The Salesman and Bernadette)
8.  Isadora Duncan (Little)
9.  Rambunctious Cloud (Ghetto Bells)
10.  West of Rome (West of Rome)
11.  Phil the Fiddler (Dark Developments)
 
Find Vic Chesnutt albums here.  And get the free Daytrotter Session.

The 111 Albums of 2009

Posted on by
45
Well, here it is…the annual epic 111 best albums of 2009…as voted on by you.   Usually it’s a close race…but this year, Animal Collective ran away with it.  In fact, the entire top ten was leaps and bounds above the rest.  And…if you have a problem with the list…then blame yourselves…you’re the ones who voted.
 
See ya, next decade!!
 
Here are the 111 Best Albums of 2009:
1.  Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
2.  The xx – xx (Crystalised BBC)
3.  Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
4.  The Antlers – Hospice  (Kettering)
5.  Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (1901 live)
6.  Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (The Bride)
7.  Wilco – Wilco (the Album)
8.  Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz (only $5.00)
9.  Metric – Fantasies (Help Im Alive)
10. Girls – Album
11. St. Vincent – Actor
12. Pearl Jam – Backspacer
13. Japandroids – Post Nothing
14. Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
15. White Rabbits – It’s Frightening (Percussion Gun daytrotter)
16. Modest Mouse – No One’s First and You’re Next
17. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
18. Built To Spill – There is No Enemy
19. Silversun Pickups – Swoon
20. Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
21. Morrissey – Years of Refusal
22. The Dead Weather – Horehound
23. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
24. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
25. Cage The Elephant – Cage The Elephant
26. Regina Spektor – FAR
27. Fanfarlo – Reservoir
28. Various Artists – Dark Was The Night
29. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Beware
30. Passion Pit – Manners
31. Noah and the Whale – The First Days of Spring
32. Mos Def – The Ecstatic
33. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
34. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
35. K’naan – Troubadour
36. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
37. M. Ward – Hold Time
38. Sunset Rubdown – Dragon Slayer
39. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
40. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
41. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport 
42. Samantha Crain – Songs In the Night 
43. David Gray – Draw The Line
44. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
45. Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (Know Your Enemy Colbert Report)
46. The Pains of Being Pure of Heart – POBOH
47. Karen O and the Kids – Where the Wild Things Are
48. Dave Matthews Band – Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King
49. Devendra Banhart – What Will We Be
50. The Swell Season – Strict Joy
51. Why? – Eskimo Snow
52. Julian Plenti – …is a Skyscraper
53. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains (Cold Spring)
55. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms
56. Mew – No More Stories Are Told Today
57. Fun. – Aim and Ignite
58. The Horrors – Primary Colours
59. Conor Oberst – Outer South
60. Crystal Method – Divided By The Night  (only $5.00)
61. Miike Snow – Miike Snow
62. The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
63. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
64. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3.0
65. The Mountain Goats – Life of the World To Come
66. Dan Deacon – Bromst
67. Florence and the Machine – Lungs
68. Weezer – Raditude
69. Mastodon – Crack the Skye
70. Say Anything – Say Anything
71. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below
72. Trail of Dead – Century of Self
73. Paramore – Brand New Eyes
74. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
75. Handsome Furs – Face Control
76. Wavves – Wavves
77. Antony and the Johnsons – The Crying Light (only $5.00)
78. Maxwell – BLACKsummer’s Night
79. Von Bondies – Love, Hate and Then There’s You
80. Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day (Straight Into A Storm)
81. Dinosaur Jr. – Farm
82. Muse – The Resistance
83. The Mars Volta – Octahedron
84. Cut Off Your Hands – You and I
85. Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati
86. Brand New – Daisy
87. Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything To Nothing
88. The Black Crowes – Before The Frost…Until the Freeze
89. The Fray – The Fray
90. Roman Candle – Oh Tall Tree In The Ear
91. Band of Skulls – Baby Darling Dollface Honey
92. U2 – No Line on the Horizon
93. Placebo – Battle For the Sun
94. Various Artists – Ghana Special (1968-91)
95. Gogol Bordello – Live from Axis Mundi
96. Flyleaf – Memento Mori (only $5)
97. Taking Back Sunday – New Again
98. Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major (only $5.00)
99. Jack Penate – Everything Is New
100.             Levon Helm – Electric Dirt (only $5)
101.             Mumford and Sons – Sigh No More
102.             Dananananaykroyd – Hey everyone!
103.             El Grupa Nueva De Omar Rodriguez Lopez – Cryptomnesia
104.             Raekwon – Only Built For Cuban Linx P2
105.             Wale – Attention Deficit (only $5.00)
106.             Franz Ferdinand – Tonight
107.             Matt & Kim – Grand ($5.00)
108.             Memory Tapes – Seek Magic
109.             Drake – So Far Gone (only $5.00)
110.             Andrew Bird – Noble Beast
111.             Tegan and Sara – Sainthood

The 11 Best Albums of 2009 1-11 (Part 5):

Posted on by
Reply
So here it… the best 11 albums of 2009…according to me.

But if you want a voice…then it’s time to vote on your favorite albums. Next week, I will publish a list of the 111 best albums of 2009…according to you…my readers.

If you want to vote…just put your top 20 albums in the comment section anywhere on the blog.

Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 1-11 (Part 5):
1. The xx – The xx
2. Samantha Crain – Songs In the Night (Devil’s in Boston)
3. Wilco – Wilco (the Album)
4. Morrissey – Years of Refusal
5. The Antlers – Hospice (Kettering)
6. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Ticket Taker)
7. Built To Spill – There is No Enemy
8. The Swell Season – Strict Joy (Low Rising)
9. Crystal Method – Divided By The Night
10. Metric – Fantasies
11. Von Bondies – Love, Hate and Then There’s You

8 Crazy Hanukkah Songs

Posted on by
Reply
Considering the greatest songwriters, TV writers, and screenwriters are all Jewish (okay not all of them…but a lot) one would think we would have a few festive songs for Hanukkah.  But in the past century we’ve only been able to muster up a good half dozen.  In fact, the humorous songs about Hanukkah are not only more common…they’re actually much better.
 
Happy Hanukkah, Hebroes and Hesistas!
 
Here are 8 Crazy Hanukkah Songs!
 
1.  Save Ferris – Christmas Wrapping
2.  Sarah Silverman – Give The Jew Girl Toys
3.  South Park – Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel
4.  Smooth E – Heynukkah!
5.  Dr. Dyke – Westside
6.  Pudie Tadow – Get Your Dreidel On
7.  2 Live Jews – Feliz Hanukkah
8.  Adam Sandler – The Hanukkah Song Part 3
 

The 11 Best Albums of 2009: 12-22 (Part 4)

Posted on by
92
I’ve noticed that my excitement for new releases is much lower than it used to be. When a new Pearl Jam album came out…I lined up at midnight at Tower Records just to be the first to buy it. I still go buy albums the day they come out…but it’s usually a Tuesday ritual rather than a special treat. But this year…there were a few albums that got my juices going. The 4 unreleased Beck albums were quite nice since they were unavailable in a store. But these were given away for free. So, as cool as they were…anyone could get them. But there was another unreleased album that I got fanatic over. That would be the Sparklehorse/DangerMouse album…why? Because it was never available anywhere. Not to download. Not to buy. Getting a copy wasn’t just exciting…it was like a treasure hunt. For those few days while I tracked down each song, I was excited over a new release since…as I had been when waiting in line at midnight.

 
New month means new $5 albums. Check out the store for the new Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Alec Ounsworth, Major Lazer, new Green Day, Wale, Dodos, My Morning Jacket, and a buttload of Christmas albums.

 Here is the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 12-22 (Part 4):
12. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
13. Deer Tick – Born On Flag Day (Straight Into A Storm)
14. The Black Crowes – Before The Frost…Until the Freeze
15. The Dead Weather – Horehound
16. White Rabbits – It’s Frightening
17. Tegan and Sara – Sainthood
18. Regina Spektor – FAR
19. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse – Dark Night of the Soul (Revenge)
20. Pearl Jam – Backspacer
21. Depeche Mode – Sounds of the Universe
22. Magnolia Electric Co. – Josephine (Little Sad Eyes)
If you haven’t added your picks for 2009…do so now!  Just put them in the comment section of the blog!

The 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3)

Posted on by
2,817
 
As each step of this list is being unveiled, I have to say…there was a lot of music this year I really enjoyed.  Whether it was scrounging to find the unreleased Beck cover album…or the return of Franz Ferdninand…or the underrated ben gibbard/farrar duet, there was a bunch of music out there to get excited about.  Two newcomers to watch…Cut Off Your Hands and Cage The Elephant…I have a feeling they will be on these lists for years to come.

 
Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 23-33 (Part 3):
23.  Cut Off Your Hands – You And I  (Turn Cold)
24.  JJ – JJ No 2
25.  Wolfmother – Cosmic Egg
26.  Franz Ferdinand – Tonight 
27.  Cage The Elephant – Cage the Elephant (Ain’t No Rest)
28.  M. Ward – Hold Time
29.  Beck – Velvet Underground & Nico  (I’ll Be Your Mirror)
30.  Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3.0
31.  Steel Panther – Feel The Steel
32.  Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
33.  Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar – One Fast Move Or I’m Gone

The 11 Best albums of 2009: 34-44 (Part 2)

Posted on by
2,827
With the end of decade sending everyone scrambling to make decade topping lists, let’s not forget all the good music that made this year one of the better musical years of the decade.
 
Don’t forget to vote in our annual “best of.”  Just send us your top 20 albums of the year…or as many as you can think of, if you can’t think of 20.  We take all albums…all genres…just be sure they were released in 2009.  To vote, just put your list in the comments section of the blog…or email us.
Here 11 Best Albums of 2009: 34-44 (Part 2):
 
34.  Moby – Wait for Me (Shot In The Back of the Head) – only $5.00
35.  Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon
36.  Au Revoir Simone – Still Night, Still Light – only $5.00 
37.  Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11  -only $5.00
38.  Julian Plenti – Julian Plenti…is a Skyscraper
39.  Cursive – Mama, I’m Swollen (What Have I Done)
40.  Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (East Jesus Nowhere)
41.  The Editors – In This Light and On This Evening
42.  Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels
43.  Bob Dylan – Together Through Life 
44.  Alice in Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue

The 11 Best Albums of 2009: 45-55 (Part 1)

Posted on by
3,336
Happy Holidays everyone!
 
It’s that time of the year again…time to make our own “Best of…” list.  As you all know, every year I compile a list of the best music albums released during the year.  And, I ask all of you to help out. 
 
So, if you haven’t done this before or need a quick refresher, it’s very simple.  Send me your 20 Favorite Albums that were released during 2009.  Remember, the only rule is that the album had to be officially released during 2009.  If you can’t think of 20…send 10…or even 5…if you only like 1, then just send 1.
 
Once I get all the votes…I’ll compile an uber list of 111 of the best albums of 2009.
 
Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2009: 45-55 (Part 1):
45.  Cracker – Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
46.  Here We Go Magic – Here We Go Magic (Fangela)
47.  The Bravery – Stir The Blood
48.  Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
49.  Memory Tapes – Seek Magic
50.  Volcano Choir – Unmap  (only $5.00)
51.  Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
52.  Weezer – Raditude
53.  St. Vincent – Actor
54.  The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
55.  William Elliott Whitmore – Animals in the Dark (There Is Hope For You)

The Unknown: The Bravery – Cowards

Posted on by
2,984

I may be the only person who prefers the original version of The Bravery’s Sun and the Moon to the new re-produced ultra uber spectacular polished tight-fitting version.  To me the first version sounded more natural…more like the band’s first album.  The new “glitter” version sounds like the dorky guy in math class who keeps offering to do the prom queen’s homework.  You want to say “Stop it!…you’re trying too hard.” Maybe it’s because, to many, The Bravery are the dorky guy in math class.  I can’t believe how many people think this band just all out sucks.  But three albums in…they’re hanging on…and honestly, making some damn good catchy music.  If you don’t think so, take a listen to their B-side collection.

Here is The Bravery – Cowards:

  1. Rocket (Smashing Pumpkins)
  2. It’s All I Can Do (The Cars)
  3. Rats in the Walls
  4. An Cat Dubh (U2)
  5. Faces
  6. Oh Glory
  7. Hey Sunshiney Day
  8. Hot Pursuit
  9. Who Left Me Out?
  10. Sorrow (The McCoys)
  11. The Dandy (Rock)

Buy The Bravery’s new album, Stir the Blood now!!