I know, I know. I never finished my 12 days but all 2 of you who read this won’t care. Here is my complete list of Favs from ’09!

In years past I would say putting together a list of my personal favorites would be a daunting task. This year though, I realized that I wasn’t really into albums much. Not sure if it was due to the fact that I DJ a lot and am always on the look out for single amazing tracks to play or that I feel bands and artist are not really focusing on the art of the album as a whole. Either way, thanks to my itunes and the purchase of a new laptop in January, making this list was quite easy. So lo and behold, “La Lista de Lo Mejor Del 2009” by El Nova:

Favorite Albums of 2009

Mariachi El Bronx – S/T

Hands down this was my favorite album and the most “Punk Rock” thing to grace my car stereo this year. The minute I heard the lead track Cell Mates, I knew I had to check it out. Being born and raised in California (Latin Influence Abound) and having a Grandma that was heavily involved in the Country world, this album just felt like a great reminder of vintage Johnny Cash, Vicente Fernandez and Marty Robbins. If you are a fan of the Bronx, this may or may not be what you’d expect from them. As for me it was a welcomed surprise!

As one friend put, “Even my Valet, who was Mexican, had to ask who the band was playing in my car. That’s when you know they did this right.”

Muse – Resistance

I’ll keep this simple. It isn’t their best work, maybe even my least favorite of all their works. Yet, most bands out there still can’t make an album of this caliber. Maybe duplicate it but never replicate the same feel. When I needed an album to listen to as a whole and escape my daily burdens, in came Matt B and Co with the trip I needed!

Other Albums The Were On Heavy Rotation:
The XX – S/T

Kid Cudi – Man On The Moon: End of the Day

Frankmusik – Complete Me

The Bloody Beetroots – Romborama

The Noisettes – Wild Young Hearts

Them Crooked Vultures – S/T

Matt & Kim – Grand

fun. – aim and ignite

Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3

Owl City – Ocean Eyes

The Prodigy – Invaders Must Die

Top 25 Songs

Bonkers – Dizzie Rascal

Never Forget You – Noisettes

3 Words – Frankmusik

HYPNTZ (Biggie Cover) &/Or Symphonies – Dan Black

Lost+ Ft. Jay-Z – Coldplay

Pusuit of Happiness (Ft. MGMT & Ratatat) – Kid Cudi

A Thing For Me – Metronomy

Big Bills feat.CAROLINE POLACHEK – Flosstradamus

She Came Along (feat. Kid Cudi) – Sharam

Pon De Floor – Major Lazer

I Found Away (feat. Douglas P) – Alkaline Trio

I’m On A Boat (feat. T-Pain) – The Lonely Island

Animal (Including Many Remixes) – Mike Snoww

Sugalumps – Flight of the Conchords

No You Girls – Franz Ferdinand

Uptown Girl (feat. Emily Haines & Murray Lightburn) – k-Os

Night By Night – Chromeo

All The Pretty Girls – fun.

In The Room Where You Sleep – Dead Mans Bones

The Good News – Philadelphia Grand Jury

By Sean Hetherington

One day this summer I was listening to Merriweather Post Pavillion while I was working in my garage. One of the songs that is not “My Girls” or “Summertime Clothes” (read: one of the less desirable tracks) was playing. As my little brother’s friends (call him Charlie) left the house he quizzically (and mockingly) smirked at the radio, “What the hell are you listening to man?” He didn’t even give me a chance to respond as he walked away chuckling and shaking his head. I realized at that moment, as I looked at the radio speakers then back at Charlie’s portly ponytail as he got in his truck, that what I was listening to at that moment was indeed nothing less then laughable. In all fairness, the truck he drives is yellow. Also it’s a Hummer H2. One of those SUTs. Nevertheless, the album didn’t make my top ten albums and six months later, I’m still trying to figure out which was more ridiculous: Charlie’s Oakleys as he drove off in his yellow Hummer or me as I listened to “Bluish” or “Lion in a Coma” or whatever pile of crap was playing at that curious moment. Anyways, here are 10 of my favorite albums of 2009.

1. Let’s Wrestle////In The Court of The Wrestling Lets

Imagine if Art Brut teamed up with Frank Black… Oh yeah that happened, and it didn’t sound half this good… but in all fairness, nothing this year did. Let’s Wrestle made a nearly perfect album this year. While this is merely a list of my favorite albums, it must be said that In the Court of the Wrestling Lets is truly the best album of 2009.

2. The Strange Boys////And Girls Club

The Strange Boys were Austin’s best band for at least 51 weeks of 2009. And be sure that—with another album coming early 2010, and a new band member (this one a girl)—they’ll be even more prevalent at SXSW this year in their push for 52 in 2010.

3. The Spits////Volume IV

10 songs in 15 minutes.

4. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart////The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

The Spits would beat the hell out of this band then eat their hearts, thereby showing them what real heart pain is. Still a good album.

4. Handsome Furs////Face Control

Probably the best thing anyone associated with Wolf Parade has put out since 2005’s Apologies To The Queen Mary.

5. Obits////I Blame You

Maybe not the Hot Snakes, but in this economy we’ll take what we can get.

6. The xx////xx

Chic?

7. Grizzly Bear////Veckatimest

A much anticipated album whose brighter moments are so bright that they sustain it’s rather prosaic moments. The fact that it made just about everybody’s “Best Of” lists shows just how bright those better moments are on Veckatimest.

8. Franz Ferdinand////Tonight

For every hour I spent this year trying to convince myself that I liked Merriweather Post Pavillion I spent two trying to convince myself that I did not like Tonight, or Franz Ferdinand at all anymore, for that matter. Wasted time. Shamelessly abandoning their former post-punk pose, the Scots seem to have adopted a post-boy band sound that is quite sexy, often frivolous, mostly, danceable, and always in good fun.

9. Heartless Bastards////The Mountain

Along with Built To Spill and Islands, this Detroit troupe proves that if you consistently make one great album after another (without some drastic change in your formula) you’ll probably get overlooked in 2009.

10. Dan Auerbach////Keep It Hid

Not the Black Keys, but definite proof that solo projects are not always lazy attempts at offloading spare ideas and songs. Auerbach can write songs and then sing for days.

Best Songs

1. “Tanks” Let’s Wrestle
2. “I’m In Fighting Mode” Let’s Wrestle
3. “Tonight” The Spits
4. “Warm Heart Of Africa” The Very Best
5. “Bow Down and Die” The Almighty Defenders
6. “Two Weeks” Grizzly Bear
7. “I’m Confused” Handsome Furs
8. “A Teenager In Love” The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
9. “Lust for Life” Girls
10. “I’m In Fighting Mode” Let’s Wrestle
11. “The Mountain” Heartless Bastards
12. “Blood Get Thin” Pete & The Pirates
13. “That’s The Way Boys Are” Best Coast
14. “This Girl Taught Me A Dance” The Strange Boys
15. “Parasites” The Soft Pack
16. “We Are The Man You’ll Grow To Love Soon” Let’s Wrestle
17. “Rain On” Woods
18. “Peacock and Wing” The Fresh And Onlys
19. “Sea Within a Sea” The Horrors
20. “Disarming The Car Bomb” Islands
21. “Twist and Shout” Art Brut
22. “Big Booty Woman” Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
23. “Prize Fighter” Golden Triangle
24. “Live Alone” Franz Ferdinand
25. “My Girls” Animal Collective
26. “Street Walkin” Dan Auerbach
27. “Listzomania/1901” Phoenix
28. “Execution” Pink Mountain Tops
29. “I Fought A Crocodile” Jacuzzi Boys
30. “Lowiza” The Lovely Feathers

I figured everybody has already had an ear full or an eye sore of everyone else’s top 10 or 50 albums of 2009, for this reason I decided to make a list of albums I liked that were not at the top of many lists. I’m sure these albums were honorable mentions or on someone’s top 50 but to me they were pretty rad. These albums were not exactly the best of 2009, but I feel they are worth checkin! So here they are, in NO particular order.

Foreign Born – Person to Person

The Soft Pack – Muslims

Telekinesis – Telekinesis

Morning Benders – Grain of Salt E.P.

Handsome Furs – Face Control (this one grows)

Junior Boys – Begone Dull Care

Foreign Born – Person to Person

Empire of The Sun – Walking on a Dream

Black Lips – 200 Million Thousand (Short Fuse sooo gooood)

The Mercury Program – Chez Viking (still at it, and still pretty good)

Morning Benders – Grain of Salt E.P.

Lymbyc System – Shutter Release

Smith Westerns – Smith Westerns

Islands – Arms Way & Vapors (both released this year)

For 2010 my only advice is to trade in your fix gear quick because your friends are going to out run you every time on their café bikes!…..

If you missed Shark Speed’s awesome Bionic Ear Session the head over and download the track NOW!

5NHUEJ7FDV6H

The third day of nothingness is upon us. How boring am I? Well hopefully a Hollywood pretty boy will brighten up that “16 Candles” romance you so desperately desire. Then again it could be the soundtrack to your ghostly heartaches!

Day 3 – Number 10

Album – Dead Man’s Bones – Dead Man’s Bones Feat. The Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir
Last year a friend posted a video via Facebook of a song by Ryan Gosslin and a new music project he was working on. So, to be pretentiously correct, I had to chime back, “How can the dude from the Notebook make hip music? It’s not right.” I should have used more profound words to get the point across. After said comment, I click play and was impressed by what I have heard. Then I forgot the whole thing till a few days ago. I know I am late on this.

Mr. Gosslin may be on a mission from another world to steal our women and with this project he is getting closer to that goal. The timing of Dead Man’s Bones release was perfect, right before that obnoxious Spike Joinze film with the annoying Karen O music. This would have made that film the dark story it was yearning to be. Now remember, this music was intended to be part of a play about Monster Love (Ah Twilight!), so some tracks seem blah when played as a single, but when placed in the context of the album, it all makes for a musical eargasim!

Top 25 Songs
HYPNTZ (Biggie Cover) &/Or Symphonies – Dan Black
Dan Black is the former lead singer of a somewhat unheard of yet sweet band called The Servant. He decided to go the solo route like many other leads before him. Unlike most of them, Dan is making exceptionally great music. This cover that was later turned in to the single Symphonies, thanks Diddy, really got me excited for this artist post break-up career. I played it for months! His Debut release UN was just released statedside this week and look for a small US tour this Spring!

Dan Black – HYPNTZ (Biggie Cover)

I Found Away (feat. Douglas P) – Alkaline Trio
Three Cheers for bands who try some new sounds! To all the Trio’s diehards who have hated on this album I have one question: Are you really that selfish? Well maybe two: Do you expect bands not to experiment, regardless of the sound? While this track seems to have Mr. Skiba and Co. leaving their well known dark emo-punk sounds. Ugh I hate that word. It was a welcomed surprised and had me screaming while driving recklessly down the 5 Fwy at 3am in the morning to stay awake. Enjoy!

P.S. I know this track came out in 2008 but who cares. I played it in ’09!

If you missed Day 2 then head over HERE to see what you missed out on!

This is Tony from Municipal Waste and No FriendsZ
Here’s a list of my 5 favorite albums of the year.

Visit Municipal Waste

While we may not all be part of the team, we have much love for them. Team Love Records, if you didn’t know, is home to some sweet little musicians, Tilly & The Wall, Shudder To Think and Jenny Lewis to name a few. So when they sent us their favorite albums of this past year, I smiled. A grin and nod to people who enjoy music for what it’s worth and what it does for us!

Quantec – Cauldren Subsidence (Echocord)
Jay-Z – Blueprint 3 (Roc Nation)
Tony Allen & Jimi Tenor – Inspiration Information (Strut)
Farmer Dave Scher – Flash Forward To The Good Times (Kemado)
Super Furry Animals – Dark Days Light Years (Rough Trade)
Scuba – A Mutual Antipathy (Hot Flush)
Doom - Born Like This (Lex)
Buraka Som Sistema – Black Diamond (Fabric)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz (Polydor)
Flow Dan – Original Dan
Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young (Rough Trade)
Elizabeth Fraser – Moses” 12-inch (Rough Trade)
Johann Johannsson – And In The Endless Pause There Came The Sound of Bees” (Type)
Mount Eerie – Wind’s Poem” (P.W. Elverum & Sun)
Bill Callahan – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle” (Drag City)
Destroyer – Bay of Pigs” EP (Merge)
Dum Dum Girls – Yours Alone” EP (Captured Tracks)
Devon Williams – Sufferer” Single (Slumberland)
Cymbals Eat Guitars – Why There Are Mountains” (Sister’s Den)
Wilco – Wilco (The Album)” (Nonesuch)
Constantines – Too Slow for Love (Arts & Crafts)

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From Jessie:
Turns out all my favorite album covers are from 1973 but how ’bout this for “best of 2009″?

Best Song to Make Him Sorry

Kellie Pickler – Red High Heels

Being a newbie in Texas, I’ve been trying to immerse myself in the local culture. I heard this song while two-stepping, at the Saturday night gay two-stepping spot: why be a cowgirl when you can be a subversive cowgirl?

It’s like a modern day These Boots Were Made for Walking.

All summer, I blasted it, pretending I had an intractable slacker boyfriend. *You can watch me walk if you want to, want to. I bet you want me back, baby don’t you, don’t you? I’m gonna show you just how missing me feels… IN MY RED HIGH HEELS.

On a related hilarious note, check this out… Election Map Looks Like Red High Heels:

Visit Jessie Torrisi

Hi, I’m Nova, I post a lot on here but never really have the time to share my thoughts on music. Basically, I like music. I have probably experienced more great shows and own more music than you care to know, i.e. that is my pretentious act so I can try and fit in here. Ha! I never listen to the radio, thanks to my trusty MiniNova (my iPod). Still, I enjoy pop culture while trying to discover great new music. So with that I decided for the rest of the year I would share one album and 2 tracks that stood out to me and why!

In years past I would say putting together a list of my personal favorites would be a daunting task. This year though a discovery was made, I wasn’t really into albums. Was due to the fact that I DJ a lot and always on the look out for single amazing tracks to play or that I feel musicians are not really focusing on the art of the album as a whole. Either way, thanks to my iTunes and the purchase of a new laptop in January, making this list was quite easy. So lo and behold, “La Lista de Lo Mejor Del 2009” by El Nova:

Day 1 – The Honorable Mentions:

Album – Owl City – Ocean City
To be honest I tried to stay away from giving this album a chance due to all the wonderful peers in the Blogosphere. Once, he started pissing off the cool hip kids though, I had to take a chance. To my surprise, I enjoyed this album straight through and the butterflies fireflies twitter’d in my tummy. It is living proof that Postal Service should have become Ben Gibbard’s full time job. I prefer my music make me feel happy and take me away from my everyday cares. It seems that is what the general public wants too.

Even if it’s in hiding, just give Ocean City a chance. It may become a guilty pleasure. Thank you Adam Young for filling a void that has been in my soul since ’03 – ’04.

Songs:
A Thing For Me – Metronomy
While this track come out late in ’08, one reason for a honorable mention, it didn’t really get an indefinite spin on my pod till this year. The video is just fun and embraces the fact that if you play music, Enjoy Yourself! You are probably doing this because Doctors and Politicians were dank to you! There a few great remixes of it out there too!

Pusuit of Happiness (Ft. MGMT & Ratatat) – Kid Cudi
Day N Night I find myself listening to some track with Mr. Solo Dolo on it. If his indie cred wasn’t legit enough, the Kid invites two Hipster faves to produce a track for him. Maybe I enjoyed this track so much during the later part of my year because it was my theme, always searching! The future is upon is, the musical world as we knew it is over, ushering in the beginning of the end of pointless Genres just so we can feel “Original.” Originality is dead my friend. LONG LIVE INDIVIDUALITY!

That it is for today! Give me your thoughts, more to come and hope you have a fUN weekend.

2009 was a year for the books, four seasons, and an astonishing three-hundred sixty-five CONSECUTIVE days. Here is Johnny Action Figure’s “Best of 2009″

Best Books I Started And Haven’t Finished Yet

By The Antler’s frontman Peter Silberman

I read almost all the time, but I have an awful attention span. For this reason, I begin many a book that I ultimately don’t finish. This annoys the hell out of me. These books tend to be great, but something keeps me from continuing them. Maybe it’s distraction, maybe it’s a change of mood, I couldn’t really say. But in 2010, I’m promising myself to finish more books. In the meantime, here’s the best books I didn’t read cover to cover.

James Baldwin – Vintage Baldwin (collection of short stories and essays)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez – One Hundred Years of Solitude
Milan Kundera – The Book Of Laughter And Forgetting
David Eggers – You Shall Know Our Velocity!
Paul Auster – Invisible

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