In case you haven't read enough year-end music lists, I present my own picks for the albums (and EPs) that got me through 2009 and beyond (the beyond part is crucial!). My strictly unscientific criteria includes such factors as:
- open sunroof cruising appeal
- ability to make washing dishes more enjoyable
- amount of pasty techno geeks i recommended album to
- amount of "regular" guitar-lovin folks i recommended album to
- did i burn, upload or otherwise duplicate "listening" copies for friends?
- did i hijack any social gatherings to play said album
- amount of twitter, facebook and other social networking mentions
- did i download, print and learn lyrics to entire album? (yes, i realize most of em don't even have lyrics)
- number of involuntary bodily actions are induced (ie. goosebumps, bassface, dancing, twitching, hiccups)
- ratio of good songs to filler approaches 95th percentile
- IT JUST MAKES ME FEEL ___ (happy, melancholy, giddy, introspective)
Ok, enough of that. 2009 is quickly slipping away. And since I have no reason to make anyone scroll through 40 pages of name-dropping and what not, I'll start with my absolute FAVORITE ALBUM OF 2009 and just kinda list the rest as I think of them.
Oh, one last thing.. I tried not to look through other ppl's lists for ideas, but of the ones I did check, not a single one even mentioned my NUMERO UNO. so all you so-called music journalists out there can thank me later for turning you on to............
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Little Dragon - Machine Dreams (Peacefrog)
I'm tired of talking about the hows and why's of this LPs greatness. All I know is that it makes me feel good.. still.. after 50? 80? 100? listens.. it is honest, warm, quirky, fun, deep.. totally original yet instantly nostalgic, and features the angelic voice of Yukimi, who has more talent, charm and musical depth in her pinky toe than Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift (and whoever else is trending currently) combined. Oh, this album bears another similarity to personal favs of years past (Radiohead - In Rainbows comes to mind). Every single track has probably been my "favorite song" off the album for at least a day or 2. If I had to choose right now, it would be "Feather" or "Runabout"... or "Swimming"...
Anyway.. Use your interweb skills to find this album stat, and let me know if you aren't in love with it from first listen. (At which point I'd call you names and probably stop being nice to you)
OTHER REALLY GREAT ALBUMS OF 2009
(in the order i wrote em)
Zomby - One Foot Ahead of the Other (Ramp)
With the exception of his "Aquafresh" track on Hyperdub, this remains my favorite Zomby release to date. One thing it ain't: Wonky (no comment). Another thing it ain't: Dubstep. 'One Foot...' is simply techno in its purest form. Unprocessed machine noises, raw analog synths (some really nice melodic arrangements) and an overall sonic character that could've been made 15 years ago, but will still sound fresh 15 years from now. Absolutely beautiful EP that basically gives the finger to anyone trying to put a label on the enigma known only as Zomby. More please!
Anthony "Shake" Shakir - Frictionalism (Rush Hour)
Got this just in the nick of time. This is like getting 4 albums in 1 -- Spanning 15 years of genre-busting gems from one of Detroit's unsung heroes.
Lusine - A Certain Distance (Ghostly International)
Near-perfect album of warm electronic bliss. Each sound is crafted with utmost care. The production quality is simply amazing, while vaguely poppy (and oh so melancholy) melodic arrangements give the album a distinctly human character. It's that personal touch that makes 'A Certain Distance' an instant and timeless classic.
2562 - Unbalance (Tectonic)
2nd full-length from Dave Huismans, aka twentyfivesixtytwo, whose first LP 'Aerial' blurred the lines between techno, dub and dubstep, and is one of the first artist albums to emerge from the dubplate culture. But as much as I loved 'Aerial', it didn't quite have the extended shelf life I thought it would (for me anyway). 'Unbalance' however, instantly steps things up a few notches. Everything about this album screams "catch me if you can" with far more complex melodic and rhythmic structures and some really slick production. It's a proper artist album, but you won't be able to sit still.
Quantic and his Combo Bárbaro - Tradition In Transition (Tru Thoughts)
The afro-cuban-jazz-funk boy wonder delivers yet another brilliant full length (with help from a few of his equally amazing musician friends)
Neil Landstrumm - Bambaataa Eats His Breakfast (Planet µ Records)
Say what you will about Neil Landstrumm's music. It's loud, abrasive and downright scary to most people, but ain't nobody else on the planet with a sound like his.
DJ Sprinkles - Midtown 120 Blues (Mule Musiq)
I had to check this out after learning that DJ Sprinkles was actually Terre Thaemlitz (!!!) -- a name I've not heard since the Artificial Intelligence days over at Warp (ya know "IDM" before someone gave it a stupid name). Midtown 120 sounds nothing like his early work, but it does have qualities of another defining sound from the early 90s. Detroit deep house (Moodymann, Theo Parrish, Rick Wade, etc.) Of course it all references soul, disco and spiritual music. It's raw, unpolished, pure and will always have a special place in my heart. DJ Sprinkles does a fantastic job of creating more earthy, soulful & timeless music @ 120 bpm.
Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Vertical Ascent (Honest Jon's Records)
It's difficult to find anyone to compare a living legend to, in this case the German dub techno pioneer Moritz Von Oswald. 4 long playing "Patterns" are included here and range from effect laden ambient dub (think U.F. Orb meets Monolake) to spaced out percussive deepness. As might be expected, there's more spatial dubbed out trickery than a King Tubby record run through a dozen tape delays. One for the big headphone crew. A "chill-out" record on the surface, this one really comes alive when amplified.
HONORABLE MENTION
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Fantastic album! I downloaded lyric sheets and played it to death. Then Cadillac had to go and use one of the songs in an ad campaign--which I have no problems with. Hell, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but enough already! I can't remember the last time a mega-brand like Cadi relied on a single soundbite for as long as they have. I hope Phoenix is getting rich off residuals, but it kinda spoiled me on the album.. or maybe I just need some space from it.
BIGGEST LETDOWN OF 2009
Hudson Mohawke - Butter (Warp)
Hmm.. Still scratchin my head on this one. It has its moments, but I couldn't even get through it all in a single sitting, much less repeat listens. Or maybe I was hoping for something as profound as Flying Lotus' first LP and got nothing but sidechain compression and bad pitch bend fx. Anyway. I'll keep trying to get it.
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Ok. I know I'm missing some great stuff, but it's literally almost 2010 and well, NYE is no time for sitting behind a computer (unless you're reading this, in which case, THANKS!)
Here's to 2010. May autotune finally get the horrible death it deserves, and maybe, JUST MAYBE quality music will return to the pop charts. Oh, I'm hoping to have an album of my own out before the next decade too..
I'm out! like 2009...
