Best Album Finds of 2009

I'm not going to do a "Top 10 albums of 2009" list because I listened to a LOT of really good albums throughout the year, but most of them only once or twice due to my crazy don't-have-time-to-listen-to-full-albums-enough-to-fall-in-love-with-them lifestyle. Since many of these albums COULD have made my top 10, and since I didn't even get to listen to all the albums I wanted to, I simply will not rank them. I'd hate to look back later this year, after I fall in love with an album that was made in 2009, and know that I didn't included it in my "Top 10 albums of 2009." So, I officially declare that I will author an annual "Best Album Finds of YEAR" list. Enjoy!

WARNING: Some of my favorite album finds of 2009 weren't made in 2009. I'm ok with that; just happy I finally found them.

Mugison's Mugiboogie is my favorite find of 2009 (even though it was released in 2008). This album is AMAZING. I discovered my love for this album on January 9, 2009, when I featured his song Mugiboogie. It was then that I first declared him a "versatile, boundary-less, unpredictable, master of sound." I encourage you to stop reading this post, click HERE, and listen to this album now (you can also download it for FREE!). This blog post will be here when you're done.


The Blow's Paper Television is chuck full of fun. Another album I highly recommend. I'm pretty late to the Paper Television party, since this album came out in 2006, but again - better late than never. You can listen to it HERE.


Although I discovered Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping on December 27, 2008, it was still one of my absolute top albums of 2009, so I'm including it. F.A.B.ulous. Also one of my absolute favorite live shows of 2009. Listen to it HERE.


Ok, so I now realize that most of my favorite albums of 2009 were birthed earlier than 2009, so in order to get to some more current albums, I'm going to list a few more personal classics that I found-and-loved last year.

Passion Pit's Chunk of Change
Friendly Fires' Friendly Fires
Langhorne Slim's Langhorne Slim
Foals' Antidotes
Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid
Lykke Li's Youth Novels

I love Animal Collective's Merriweather Pavilion from beginning to end. This made a lot of folks' top album lists, and for good reason. My goodness, if you haven't heard it yet, click HERE and get started!


Absolutely LOVE Golden Silver's True Romance. Kind of surprised I haven't heard more about them yet, but I'm ok assuming I'm an early adapter. :) Listen to them HERE and see if you agree.


Liam Finn and Eliza Jane's Champagne in Seashells is a love-at-first-listen album. I'm a big fan of Liam Finn's I'll Be Lightning, and this EP just confirmed that I'm a big Liam Finn fan in general. Check it out HERE.


Florence and the Machine's Lungs - Love her voice, her energy, her enthusiasm, and most importantly - her music! I'm a fan :) Listen to the album HERE.


I'd heard for-EVER about the supposed greatness of The Decemberists, and it wasn't until I listened to The Decemberists' Hazards of Love in that I understood why. AMAZING. Definitely a top find of 2009. I suggest you listen all the way through, which you can do HERE.


Other albums that maybe should be on here, but I haven't listened to enough to fully endorse include:

Muse's The Resistance
Girls' Album
Bat for Lashes' Two Suns

I can imagine your internal dialogue at this point might look something like this:

"Jiminy Cricket Tracy, you're obsessed with music and listen to it constantly,
how can this be it?! wtf"

It saddens me that my stupid life got in the way of actually listening, reviewing and becoming obsessed with a LOT more albums from 2009, but do not fear for 2010. I have aggressive goals to not only stay on top of all the fabulous 2010 releases, but to also catch up on all the great stuff I missed in 2009. Therefore, plan to see more old stuff on the list next year, and hopefully a shit more albums too.


Until then, thanks for reading and please feel encouraged to send me whatever album recommendations you have.

Random 10 Extras I Love

On this blog I post one song every day by a new artist, never repeating an artist... Sometimes it takes me a while to find an artist I believe is worth posting, and most of the time, once I find that artist, I love more than one of their songs. What to do?!?!

Well, as hard as it may be, I chose one-and-only-one song to recommend each day, but now my Random 10s allow me to share other songs from these artists that I love. Enjoy! :)

The Blow - Parenthesis
Calvin Harris - Acceptable in the 80s
Grizzly Bear - Alligator (choir version)
Iron & Wine - Innocent Bones
Mugison - Jesus is a Good Name to Moan
Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes
She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
Verona Red - Hesitations & Cliches
Wolf Parade - Call It a Ritual
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

Recommended Song of the Day

1/12/09: 16 Lovers, by Cagedbaby

I feel the need to tell you I love this song too, but as this is my blog, I assume that you already assume this. So you're sure though, know that I love this song.

Happy Monday!

Tracy :)

UK


PS Have you listened to Mugison yet? If not, you can listen here! Do it.

Recommended Song of the Day and oh-so-much-more.

1/9/09: Mugiboogie, by Mugison

Ok people. My song of the day is by Mugison, and his album Mugiboogie is fucking phenomenal. Would I lie to you?

He is such an amazingly talented individual that if I ever execute my backup life plan, which is to travel the world reproducing with insanely smart and talented people to create a mini-herd of smarter and more talented versions of myself (muwahahahaha) – IF I ever execute my plan, Mugison would be my baby daddy. He is a versatile, boundary-less, unpredictable, master of sound. I was, at SEVERAL points throughout the album, shocked. The change of direction from song to song is equivalent to listening to a whole different artist; I actually found myself double checking that it was indeed Mugison still playing.

Please, for the love of good music, listen to this man and appreciate what he’s brought into this world. This blog’s purpose is to spread good music. This is me, spreading.

Oh, and he's from Iceland! wtf?

Enjoy!

Tracy :)

PS I was going to include my favorite songs off the album, but I refuse as I sincerely endorse listening to the whole album through.

PPS If you knew about Mugison and didn’t share him with me, please just unfacebook friend me. Jerk. If you know about him and don’t appreciate the wonderfulness that is Mugiboogie, why do you even read this blog? Seriously, the market researcher in me wants to know, why do you read this blog?


BECAUSE I am not a writer, I feel I haven’t done this album justice. I’m including reviews from others for your reference.

"Mugison has often been stamped as the Icelandic Beck,
but on his fourth album, he edges onto John Lennon's turf."
|Spin Magazine|Stacy Anderson|


"If you dumped blues, power pop, psych rock and heavy metal
into a transmogrifying machine, the machine would rumble mysteriously,
then spit out a brightly colored block of a hitherto unimagined polymer
known as Mugison."
|Paste Magazine|Brian Howe|


"..... is undeniably original, sometimes hard to listen to,
but always interesting. Mugison's interpretation of rock 'n' roll
lands somewhere between Ryan Adams and the Pixies,
with extended instrumental interludes that highlight his singularity as an artist."
|Prefix Magazine|Mike Burr|


"This, his third album, is steeped in a rich brew of drink, love, women and religion.
Opener 'Mugiboogie' sounds like a statement of intent,
slinging together beefy Hammond organ chords with stomping beats
that are part glam rock and part Battles."
|Art Rocker|Gareth Mytton|


"an iniorating, electric listen...
landing a devastating punch with this unclassifiable new record.
Worth so much more than a fleeting investigation."
|Clash Music|

The Last 25 Albums I listened to

My Album Ratings

When I started this blog in November I made a goal to listen to albums. I think I've been too into my iPod lately and needed to get back to hearing albums and bands the way they are intended to be heard - in a full-length, non-shuffle format. I made up a rating system to keep track of them, with ##### being the best. I've decided to share my list to-date for a few reasons:

1. Hopefully you'll find good music
2. Hopefully you'll give me new good music
3. Hopefully since I'm sharing such intimacies with you, our bond will grow stronger

First sorted by rating, then chronologically because if you're an analytical freak like me you might enjoy seeing my sequence of discovery.

Enjoy!

Tracy :)


By Rating

#.5
Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust

##
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

##.5
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
Lucinda Williams - Little Honey

###.5
She & Him - Volume One
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

####
Dr. Dog - Fate
I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini?

####.5
Battles - Race In
Foals - Antidots
Greg Wood - Vibrating Glass
Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk it Off

#####
The Blow - Paper Television
Calvin Harris - I Created Disco
Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini
The Faint - Fasciinatiion
The Faint - Wet From Birth
Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Moving Units - Dangerous Dreams
Mugison - Mugiboogie
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping


Total List Chronologically

1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago ##.5
2. Dr. Dog - Fate ####
3. The Faint - Fasciinatiion #####
4. The Faint - Wet From Birth #####
5. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes ##
6. Girl Talk - Feed the Animals ##.5
7. Greg Wood - Vibrating Glass ####.5
8. I'm From Barcelona - Who Killed Harry Houdini? ####
9. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular #####
10. Moving Units - Dangerous Dreams #####
11. Sigur Rós - Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust #.5
12. She & Him - Volume One ###.5
13. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend ###.5
14. Calvin Harris - I Created Disco #####
15. Of Montreal - The Sunlandic Twins ####.5
16. The Blow - Paper Television #####
17. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ####.5
18. Langhorne Slim - Langhorne Slim #####
19. Battles - Race In ####.5
20. Emiliana Torrini - Me and Armini #####
21. Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping #####
22. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive ##
23. Foals - Antidots ####.5
24. Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk it Off ####.5
25. Mugison - Mugiboogie ######