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Best albums of 2009?

Hi, all... I thought I'd list a few faves from '09... I'd be interested to see what floated other people's boat last year, too. Here's mine:

Jeffrey Lewis EM ARE I ...J.L. is one very clever guy, *and* he writes beautiful music.

The Cave Singers WELCOME JOY

Tinariwen IMIDIWAN

Charlie Parr ROUSTABOUT ...a blues & roots guy from Duluth. He played here the other day, and I'm totally smitten. Alan Sparhawk's a fan, too... Charlie actually toured with Low once.

Kid Sam KID SAM ...Two Melbourne-based cousins. Check out Down To The Cemetery: http://www.myspace.com/kidsamband

Herman Dune HERMAN DUNE

The Low Anthem OH MY GOD. CHARLIE DARWIN

Natalie D-Napoleon HERE IN CALIFORNIA (EP)

Elvis Costello SECRET, PROFANE & SUGARCANE ...much to my surprise. I gave up on EC years ago. Must be the T-Bone influence.

Cotton Jones PARANOID COCOON

Staff Benda Bilili TRES TRES FORT

Seasick Steve MAN FROM ANOTHER TIME

I've only heard a couple of tracks so far, but Willard Grant Conspiracy's new one PAPER COVERS STONE is shaping up nicely.

My re-release of the year would have to be the Connie Converse songs, 'How Sad, How Lovely'. Her gentle humour is lovely indeed.

Very taken with some of the new KH songs, and the couple I've heard from the Crooked album are just stunning.

I *love* Vic Chesnutt's two songs 'Worst Friend' & 'Flirted With You....' from the final two albums. The other songs on those... well... I'll keep listening.

I was also present for the recording of the new Dirtbird album, THE TRAVELLER, down in Victoria last May. It's beautiful stuff... but it's not being released til later this year, so doesn't really qualify as a 2009 album

My 're-discovery of the year' is Jodi Phillis's 2003 solo album, For Lovers, Artists & Dreamers... a title that would put anyone off normally, but it's a masterpiece, imo. She & her partner Tim Oxley have a new Roger Loves Betty album out with some nice songs on it, too.

cheers-

Francis.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by halfbornhalfmade on January 14, 2010 at 9:45am: Oh I'm soooo into this stuff. Thanks for starting this thread, Francis... I have to do some thinking before I give my list.

I have a question: what does "imo" mean?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by BlankFrank on January 14, 2010 at 2:03pm: imo = in my opinion..... imho = honest opinion

lol

F.

halfbornhalfmade said:

I have a question: what does "imo" mean?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vicky on January 14, 2010 at 6:11pm: Neko Case- Middle Cyclone

This album summed up my 2009 better than I ever could and "This Tornado Loves You" pretty much describes what was going on around the time this album came out.

Other 2009 releases I enjoyed:

The Dead Weather - Horehound
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs - Under The Covers Vol. 2
Art Brut- Art Brut vs. Satan
Temper- You're Soaking In It; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ethicalpaul on January 14, 2010 at 6:31pm: H = 'humble' though

BlankFrank said:
imo = in my opinion..... imho = honest opinion lol

F.

halfbornhalfmade said:

I have a question: what does "imo" mean?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by yell0w_Sky on January 15, 2010 at 12:37am: Nothing i've bought in the past year was released in '09 but '10-4 ALL' and 'Shady Circle'. i'm so done with the '00's i refuse to buy any more albums from that decade anymore LOL

i'm still on a 70's kick lately. not sure why. Nostalgia for an era I'm not quite old enough to remember? or maybe i just like the built-in retro patina all the albums of that era have now. Right now i'm REALLY into the band Shoes, after being totally blown away by their first album 'Black Vinyl Shoes' (recorded 35 years ago!) that i acquired on a whim around Christmas (thanks to a generous iTunes gift card i got). now i'm all set to delve into some of their followup albums. thats one advantage of falling for old bands- if you want to hear their next album, you can get it right away, you don't have to wait a year or two for them to record it.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alistair on January 15, 2010 at 6:53am: I think my favourite was 'Fantasies', by Metric.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by stevenmanik on January 15, 2010 at 11:29am: I think my favorite album of the year has to be St. Vincent "Actor". I played the hell out of it from the minute I discovered it. Also spent quite a lot of time with Neko Middle Cyclone, Keane's Perfect Symmetry... I'm sure there are a few others but I think those three stand out for my year. And of course the new Cash Tracks, which have been turned into so many different sequences and playlists its hard to keep track.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SurfCowboy on January 15, 2010 at 12:51pm: Not that many in 2009, PJ Harvey & John Parish (A Woman A Man Walked By), Bat For Lashes (Two Suns), YYY (Its Blitz!) and the Dead Weather (Horehound) would be my favourites. Also:

Them Crooked Vultures
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Metric - Fantasies
Howling Bells - Let's Be Kids
The Horrors - Primary Colours
Doves - Kingdom of Rust
Brakes - Touchdown
Bowerbirds - Upper Air
Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by greenbelly on January 15, 2010 at 7:48pm: Metric - Fantasies (anyone remember when they opened for the Muses in LA?)
Imogen Heap - Ellipse; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by stevenmanik on January 15, 2010 at 8:02pm: you know I remember metric opening for muses in LA! good times. Ellipse was great too. I forgot about that one. I was married to it for labor day weekend on the beach on the east coast.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by einzack on January 16, 2010 at 2:09am: just a top 4 this year - but what a 4....
great year for me.

1. Part Chimp - Thriller
2. The Felice Brothers - Yonder Is The Clock
3. Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
4. De Rosa - Prevention; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by MegaJim on January 22, 2010 at 9:53am: The new albums by Grant Hart ("Hot Wax") and Built to Spill ("There is no Enemy") are excellent.; ▶ Reply to This