our favorite albums of 2009

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Yeah, we’ve already had one list this year but we figured we’d tone things down a bit this time.  Rather then tackle an entire decade we’ve listed the albums that spent the most time in our headphones this year.  Once again, this list was a collective effort (our personal favorite tracks are coming up) but we feel like it’s a proper representation of “who we are”.  Aside from our own insight, we’ve gathered the thoughts of Sawyer Carter Jacobs (Underwater Peoples/Family Portrait), Edwin (Tonstartssbandht), Nicole (Eternal Summers), Jason (Fergus & Geronimo), Jonathan Clancy (His Clancyness), Dent May (of, um, Dent May), and more.  Stay tuned for our individual favorite tracks of the year.  In the mean time, enjoy the mp3s that accompany our favorite albums.

25) Nosaj Thing - Drift

Nosaj Thing – IOIO

24) Reading Rainbow - Mystical Participation

Reading Rainbow – The Sun is Out

23) Woods - Songs of Shame

Woods – Rain On

22) Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

Dirty Projectors – Cannibal Resource

21) Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer

Sunset Rubdown – Idiot Heart

20) A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Ashes Grammer

A Sunny Day in Glasgow – Ashes grammar – Ashes Maths

19) Candy Claws - In the Dream of Sea Life

Candy Claws – Starry Fighter Kite

18) Ganglians - Monster Head Room

Ganglians – Violent Brave

17) A Grave WIth No Name - Mountain Debris

A Grave With No Name – Sofia

16) Desolation Wilderness - New Universe

Desolation Wilderness – Boardwalk Theme

15) Washed Out - High Times

Washed Out – Good Luck

14) Naomi Punk - S/T

Naomi Punk – Shouldna Started Trouble

13) So Cow - S/T

So Cow – Casablanca

12) The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction

11) The Xx - XX

The xx – Crystalised

10) Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms

Neon Indian – Terminally Chill

9) Smith Westerns

The Smith Westerns – Give Me Some Time

8) Atlas Sound - Logos

Atlas Sound – Walkabout (w/Noah Lennox)

7) Raekwon - OB4CL2

Raekwon – New Wu (feat. Ghostface Killah and Method Man)

6)The Mantles - S/T

The Mantles – Don’t Lie

5) Real Estate - S/T

Real Estate – Beach Comber

4) Grizzly Bear - Vecatimest

Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

3) Girls - Album

Girls – Lust For Life

2) Fever Ray - S/T

Fever Ray – When I Grow Up

1) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion

Animal Collective – My Girls

Sawyer Carter Jacobs

1. Michael Jackson Murdered by Mankind
Michael Jackson is a melding of all the heartwarming characters in To Kill a Mockingbird. He’s Atticus Finch, he’s Boo Radley, he’s Scout and he’s the defendant Tom Robinson. While each of those characters were duly appreciated by the American public, a gelling of all those individuals positive characteristics was too much for us to handle.  That’s why we killed him.
2. Blogs
The information age has reached a point where “everything,” isn’t enough. Today we demand highly focused, genuinely curated, personal type shit. Straying away from a web of Wal-Marts, the information superhighway has thus become a giant neighborhood of galleries, each owned by the passionate and quirky folk that make up our human community. Taking music away from the Wal-Mart mentality could prove to be the Internet’s greatest gift to humanity, at least tied with popularizing amateur porn production.
3. Girls “Album”
4. Smith Westerns “Smith Westerns”
5. Ganglians “Monster Head Room”

Jason from Fergus & Geronimo

1.) Mantles – s/t
2.) Reigning Sound – Love & Curses
3.) Strange Boys – And Girls Club
4.) Thee Oh Sees – Help
5.) Bare Wires – s/t

Edwin of Tonstartssbandht

favorite 2009 music that i didnt release-

SPECULATOR – (an email full of mp3sssss) – “deeop sounds”

GANGLIANS  – s/t- “pop mastermen, oh rats man”

WETDOG -frauhaus- “greasy listenin”

DIRTY BEACHES – digital c20 -”relax, go reasnin”

ERIC COPELAND -alien in a garbage dump- “do in it, his it only”

**fela kuti- coffin for head of state – “all ways on inside”

i still havent listened to all the music i downloaded.

Nicole of Eternal Summers

1. Brilliant Colors- “Introducing” LP
2. The Beets- “Spit in the Face of People Who Don’t Want to be Cool” LP
3.Young Prisms- “Self Titled” LP
4. Grass Widow- “Self Titled” LP
5. Reading Rainbow- “Mystical Participation”

yay!

Jonathan Clancy (His Clancyness)

- Mount Eeerie “Wind’s Poem”
I had kind of lost track of Phil Elvrum for a while, just was not able to follow him down through all those releases. I initially didn’t pick this album up but as soon as I randomly heard track 9 “Ancient Questions” i was floored. Just goes to show, this guy has been making insane albums forever, i just love his melodies.

- Desolation Wilderness “New Universe”
I loved the previous album “White Light Strobing” and did not understand why people didn’t pick up on it, especially considering the currend trends…loved this new record, the songs are just so sugar hazed and perfect. I’d love to see them really recognized.

- Smith Westerns “s/t”
I’m just amazed at how young these guys are and the way they can really put all these influences together.

- Papercuts “You Can Have What You Want”
This is the way I want the bass to sound on all records!

- Ganglians “Monster Head Room”
Was initially put off for some reason by this band…then dived into this record and wow, the melodies and classic out of time sense are all there. Great!

I loved or even more adored a lot of the “big” albums, Animal Collective, Girls, some of Grizzly Bear, Atlas Sound (Walkabout might be my song of the year!), Bill Callahan, Phoenix etc. but I know these guys are all gonna get their fare share of praise.

Was continually inspired all year by fellow friends and musicians Wolther Goes Stranger, Buzz Aldrin and Banjo Or Freakout.

Jeff Walls (Campfires)

The Whines – “Insane Ok” EP
Julian Lynch – “Orange You Glad”
Tyvek – “Circular Ruins”
Cat Killer – “Downtown”
Times New Viking – “Born Again Revisited”
Woods – “Songs of Shame”
Sic Alps – “L Mansion” 7″
Smith Westerns – “S/T”
Grass Widow – “S/T”
Brilliant Colors “Introducing…”

Dent May (and his magical ukulele…)

1. Animal Collective – Merriwhether Post Pavillion
2. The-Dream – Love vs Money
3. Gary War – Horribles Parade
4. Oneohtrix Point Never – Zones Without People
5. Julian Lynch – Orange You Glad

This ewas written by nate, posted on December 8, 2009 at 1:00 am, filed under lists.Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.

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