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My Top 20 Songs of 2009

Each year I’ve created my Top 10 Songs list and last year I added a Top 10 albums. I have decided to broaden myself and expand the list to include the Top 20 Songs of this past year. There was a ton of great music released in 2009 and even doubling the size of the list did not ease the painstaking process of boiling down all of the great tunes to a manageable list. I simply looked at the data. I analyzed my iTunes library, Last.fm charts and Rhapsody data to find out what songs were the stickiest. I also combed several sites for reviews and releases I may have missed, all to make sure that the best would rise to the top. I believe I’ve babbled long enough, so here it is: My Top 20 Songs of 2009. I hope you find something good.

Deer Tick - Born On Flag Day

In recent years, I’ve learned to appreciate good bluesy rock and I’ve even expanded my music tastes to include … (gulp) … country. A band like Deer Tick and their lastest album Born On Flag Day feeds my jones for both styles of music. The most accessible single on this album would have to be ‘Easy’, but I feel that songs like ‘Houston, TX’ and ‘Hell On Earth’ are a lot more satisfying and more representative of the bands indie roots. I’m very excited to them listed on the list of Showcasing Bands for SXSW 2010. I’ve heard they are excellent live, so the expectations are already pretty high. Here’s a clip of the band playing ‘Friday XIII’ on KEXP. Enjoy!

John Vanderslice - Romanian Names

I love this album. Seriously. I had read up a bit on John Vanderslice and threw this album in rotation at work. While this is the first of his albums that I’ve listened to, I can’t help but have a slight man-crush. The album is real and a bit dark, but never depressing. His vocals and the combination of guitar and piano make for an extremely satisfying listening experience. I found this video and immediately got pissed off that I wasn’t able to see the show in SF that he played with the Magik Magik Orchestra at the Great American Music Hall. I hope you enjoy.

Cass McCombs - Catacombs

Cass McCombs is a bay area product (from Concord to be precise) and has just released his latest album on the Domino label. Catacombs seems to be the result of Country, Folks, Blues and Rock influences. I love this album and have listened to it all the way through, at least 15 times over the last 2 weeks. The whole record is solid, but there are some standout tunes for sure. I like “Dreams Come True Girl”, “Lionkiller Got Married” and “Harmonia”. Here is the video for “Dreams Come True Girl”. It has Karen Black singing backup vocals, some skate footage and is shot in a near-empty dark small venue somewhere in middle america (I assume?).

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

I had the opportunity to see Grizzly Bear as the opener for Feist in SF a few years back, and while I thought they were pretty good, nothing about their music blew me away. I just started listening to their latest album: Veckatimest, and I must admit that I have officially changed my tune on this band. No pun intended. I am just starting to absorb and appreciate the album, but a few of the songs have really grabbed me, the first of which is ‘Two Weeks’. Here’s the video.

Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career

If this is the first time you’ve heard Camera Obscura, and are a fan of Belle & Sebastian, you’ll notice similarities between the two groups right away. Both focus on super catchy, sweet, melodic pop music. If you didn’t listen to the words of either group, you might be quick to judge and even think to yourself while their records are playing: how cute is that? Like Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura have built quite a following and it’s safe to say that their fourth album; ‘My Maudlin Career’ will further solidify their place in the Indie-Pop pantheon. I just recently threw this album into my daily rotation, but noticed some standouts on this album the first time through. A few cuts I like: ‘Honey in the Sun’, ‘French Navy’, ‘Swans’. Here’s the video for ‘French Navy’. Catch it before YouTube brings it down.

Metric - Fantasies

Some of you may know that I am a huge fan of all things Canadian. My mother was Canadian, there are heaps of great Actors/Comedians that have come from our northern neighbors and the music scene in Toronto is, from what I can tell, incredible. I understand that the band Metric was formed in New York, but Emily Haines was born in India and raised in Toronto … so that’s cool enough for me. They are a Canadian Indie/Pop/New-Wave band and I dig them a ho’ lot. Their latest album; Fantasies was just released and I’ve been logging some serious time grooving to it. Assuming you have any taste in music whatsoever, you may like this album as well. Here’s the Single “Help I’m Alive”. Peace!

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Band of Horses - The Fox Theater - 4/17/2009

Last night, Amy and myself, along with our friends Karolina, Dave, Jennie and Gordon went to Sidebar for dinner and then hit The Fox Theater to see Band of Horses. I don’t have the set list yet, but they played a mix of songs from Everything All The Time and Cease to Begin as well as some songs off their new album, which, if I heard them right is titled “My Rainbows”. The vocals from Ben Bridwell were impressive, although you could definitely hear his voice strain by the end of the encore. The guy puts a lot of energy into each song and it seems obvious to me that he is the personality in the band.

If I had to describe in one word, what feeling I walked away with after the show; happiness. Their music is really uplifting, which is strange to say, since I’ve been listening to them for years and never thought about how happy of a vibe they promote in their words and lyrics. They kicked off the show with a great performance of “The Great Salt Lake”. They played every song I could have hoped for and their set lasted about 90 minutes. A huge bigfoot lookin’ dude next to us yelled at the band towards the end of the show with “islands on the coast, play that shit!”. The band ignored the request and instead, I believe, played “No One’s Gonna Love You”.

What made the whole experience even sweeter, was the fact that we were able to see Band of Horses at the recently renovated Fox Theater in Oakland. What an awesome venue this was. The detail and finish on the place was incredible and the layout had a great flow to it. I am looking forward to seeing a wide array of live performances at this theater over the coming years and am absolutely psyched for the city and what that theater will do for Midtown Oakland.

A great meal, great beer, good friends and a seriously rockin’ band in a beautiful theater. What else do you need?

Heartless Bastards - The Mountain

This group was a recommendation from Last.fm and from the very first cut off their new album, I was mesmerized. The vocals by Erika Wennerstrom are just incredible. She has this smoky/sultry quality to her voice, but something about her style is comforting. Since I’ve been into bluesy rock lately, it’s not a surprise that I’d get hooked on this album. Heartless Bastards are on Fat Possum Records (they have a roster that includes Wavves, Dan Auerbach, Andrew Bird et al). Since I don’t believe I can do right by this album through my spastic writing style, please just take a listen and let me know what you think. This is the title track to their new album titled ‘The Mountain’.

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Aceyalone - The Way It Was EP

No matter how catchy the songs are, a 2-song EP is not necessarily indicative of the quality you’ll get with the following full-length. I’ll definitely want to listen to the LP after it’s drop (I believe March 31), but this sounds fresh. I have some friends, one in particular, that is constantly bagging on WC Hip-Hop and insists that all of the good Hip-Hop comes out of the East Coast. I am always reminding him of artists/groups like Too Short, Freestyle Fellowship, Del, Hieroglyphics, Pharcyde and the list goes on and on. Anyways, back to the post at hand. Don’t sleep on Aceyalone! Until you can get your hands on the album, take a listen to “The Lonely Ones”.

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