I FINALLY FINISHED IT. AND IT'S A PUBLIC ENTRY OMG. My Top Albums of '09
I had hoped to actually post this, y'know, in 2009, but better late than never.
My top albums of 2009:
12. The Paper Raincoat - The Paper Raincoat
A lovely debut from the brainchild of Brooklyn-based songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong. They sound like an American, two-person version of Stars, which is not a bad thing to be. It feels like a love letter to New York City, packed with gorgeous little melodies and sweeping string arrangements. I haven’t owned it for very long, which is why it’s at the bottom of my list, but it's awesome.
11. PJ Harvey and John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By
This album is so utterly cracked-out and all over the place, and better off for it. It’s exhilarating as a listener to hear PJ moving through so many different characters and situations and emotions in the space of 40 minutes. She treads softly around the moments of hushed fragility and revels in the moments of absolute, over the top absurdity. This isn’t something that I can put on frequently, nor can I hold it up as any sort of model of cohesion and flow, normally a prerequisite for my enjoyment of an album, but something about the disparity works for it and for me. Perhaps it’s because these two completely own it.
10. Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
Believe it or not, I have yet to watch more than a few episodes of the Flight of the Conchords tv show. Nevertheless, the songs these guys put out have never yet failed to make me laugh even when they’re out of context. I listen to this when I need some cheering up/silliness in my day.
9. Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
In my list last year, I mentioned each of my Greatest Musical Discoveries since 2006; the year when I started listening to Tori Amos, followed by Patrick Wolf in 2007 and Nick Cave in 2008. Amazingly, I believe Lady Gaga was mine of ’09. She may write generic pop songs with a faint sheen of pretension, but they’re AWESOME fairly pretentious generic pop songs, and I definitely have not enjoyed pop music like I do hers since...well, ever, so that’s a new thing for me. The video for ‘Bad Romance’ and the song ‘Telephone’ converted me from a hesitant to a full-fledged Gaga fan. Gaga has proven that she’s here to stay, and no complaints here.
8. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
I have my issues with this album - I think it is over-long, I think the covers are jarring and unnecessary, I think the 30 minutes of frog noises tacked on at the end are completely pointless - but the best songs are just so incredibly well written and crafted, they easily overshadow any of my hangups. Also wins my award for best album cover pretty much of all time, in a year rife with really, really bad album covers.
7. Lisa Germano - Magic Neighbor
Like everything Lisa Germano touches, absolutely magical. The arrangements are so beautiful, but always with an undercurrent of menace. Some of the songs manage to come across as outright disturbing and dark in a way I can’t quite put my finger on.
6. Tori Amos - Midwinter Graces
Tori really surprised me with this album - it’s a Christmas album, in the loosest sense of the word, it’s full of carols brought back to their pagan, pre-Christianized roots (along with a couple self-penned songs), and it’s the best work she’s put out since Scarlet’s Walk in 2003. I’ve wished she would put out a collection of more stripped, classically-influenced songs for a while now, and apart from a couple misfiring braincells of songs, that’s exactly what this is. There are harpsichords and bells and strings and GUEST VOCALISTS galore, and the piano always remains at the forefront. (And no, I did not post the actual album cover, because it is a disgrace to mankind.)
5. Ben Folds - Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella!
Ben Folds took a unique approach with his greatest hits compilation - the songs have been rearranged and performed by college acapella groups from across the country, giving them a new flavor and a fresh perspective. Ben himself takes lead vocal on ‘Boxing’ and ‘Effington’. True to Ben’s back catalogue, this album is great fun and occasionally achingly beautiful.
4. Vienna Teng - Inland Territory
This is Vienna Teng’s most ambitious and accomplished album to date. Inland Territory sees Vienna experimenting more with different musical genres and methods of production, and her usual storytelling style of songwriting continues to grow and change - the songs seem to come from a more thoughtful, worldly perspective. Borrowing the words of my friend minviendha, because I am shameless and unoriginal, “It's very different from anything I've heard her do before, but still definitely Vienna. Way to be versatile, Vienna!”
3. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
This is a wonderful album that I’ve been enjoying all year long. The songs really feel like they belong together and the arrangements are absolutely delicious. Andrew Bird’s music makes me feel inadequate because he’s just so freaking talented, and unintelligent because his lyrics are brilliant/too smart for me. And I love every minute of my perceived stupidity when it means listening to music this good.
2. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
I’m kind of surprised by how much I ended up loving this album. It’s a massive improvement over 2007’s Fur and Gold, which wasn’t too shabby in the first place. Two Suns has all the high-running emotion and conflict of a typical breakup album, but with a heavy element of the fantastical and ethereal that makes it unique. It also sounds like what you would get if you took Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and Bjork circa 1996 and tossed them in a blender. That’s cool with me.
Bat For Lashes - "Pearl's Dream"
1. Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor
A dark, winding journey through the furthest reaches of depression - but not without a light at the end of the maze. The Bachelor feels like the logical culmination of Patrick Wolf’s career up to this point, taking its cues from previous efforts Lycanthropy and Wind in the Wires as far as subject matter/instrumentation (moments of electronica here, moments of folk influence there), but all kicked up a notch in epic along the lines of 2007‘s The Magic Position. And even then, somehow, this album is all its own : it is angry and desperate and rebellious and despairing and just plain beautiful. Patrick’s creativity and bravery resonate with me and continue to inspire me.
Eventually I will post a full playlist of my top songs from 2009, including songs from albums that didn't make my list.
My top albums of 2009:
12. The Paper Raincoat - The Paper Raincoat
A lovely debut from the brainchild of Brooklyn-based songwriters Amber Rubarth and Alex Wong. They sound like an American, two-person version of Stars, which is not a bad thing to be. It feels like a love letter to New York City, packed with gorgeous little melodies and sweeping string arrangements. I haven’t owned it for very long, which is why it’s at the bottom of my list, but it's awesome.
Click to view11. PJ Harvey and John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By
This album is so utterly cracked-out and all over the place, and better off for it. It’s exhilarating as a listener to hear PJ moving through so many different characters and situations and emotions in the space of 40 minutes. She treads softly around the moments of hushed fragility and revels in the moments of absolute, over the top absurdity. This isn’t something that I can put on frequently, nor can I hold it up as any sort of model of cohesion and flow, normally a prerequisite for my enjoyment of an album, but something about the disparity works for it and for me. Perhaps it’s because these two completely own it.
10. Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky
Believe it or not, I have yet to watch more than a few episodes of the Flight of the Conchords tv show. Nevertheless, the songs these guys put out have never yet failed to make me laugh even when they’re out of context. I listen to this when I need some cheering up/silliness in my day.
9. Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster
In my list last year, I mentioned each of my Greatest Musical Discoveries since 2006; the year when I started listening to Tori Amos, followed by Patrick Wolf in 2007 and Nick Cave in 2008. Amazingly, I believe Lady Gaga was mine of ’09. She may write generic pop songs with a faint sheen of pretension, but they’re AWESOME fairly pretentious generic pop songs, and I definitely have not enjoyed pop music like I do hers since...well, ever, so that’s a new thing for me. The video for ‘Bad Romance’ and the song ‘Telephone’ converted me from a hesitant to a full-fledged Gaga fan. Gaga has proven that she’s here to stay, and no complaints here.
8. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
I have my issues with this album - I think it is over-long, I think the covers are jarring and unnecessary, I think the 30 minutes of frog noises tacked on at the end are completely pointless - but the best songs are just so incredibly well written and crafted, they easily overshadow any of my hangups. Also wins my award for best album cover pretty much of all time, in a year rife with really, really bad album covers.
7. Lisa Germano - Magic Neighbor
Like everything Lisa Germano touches, absolutely magical. The arrangements are so beautiful, but always with an undercurrent of menace. Some of the songs manage to come across as outright disturbing and dark in a way I can’t quite put my finger on.
6. Tori Amos - Midwinter Graces
Tori really surprised me with this album - it’s a Christmas album, in the loosest sense of the word, it’s full of carols brought back to their pagan, pre-Christianized roots (along with a couple self-penned songs), and it’s the best work she’s put out since Scarlet’s Walk in 2003. I’ve wished she would put out a collection of more stripped, classically-influenced songs for a while now, and apart from a couple misfiring braincells of songs, that’s exactly what this is. There are harpsichords and bells and strings and GUEST VOCALISTS galore, and the piano always remains at the forefront. (And no, I did not post the actual album cover, because it is a disgrace to mankind.)
5. Ben Folds - Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella!
Ben Folds took a unique approach with his greatest hits compilation - the songs have been rearranged and performed by college acapella groups from across the country, giving them a new flavor and a fresh perspective. Ben himself takes lead vocal on ‘Boxing’ and ‘Effington’. True to Ben’s back catalogue, this album is great fun and occasionally achingly beautiful.
4. Vienna Teng - Inland Territory
This is Vienna Teng’s most ambitious and accomplished album to date. Inland Territory sees Vienna experimenting more with different musical genres and methods of production, and her usual storytelling style of songwriting continues to grow and change - the songs seem to come from a more thoughtful, worldly perspective. Borrowing the words of my friend minviendha, because I am shameless and unoriginal, “It's very different from anything I've heard her do before, but still definitely Vienna. Way to be versatile, Vienna!”
3. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
This is a wonderful album that I’ve been enjoying all year long. The songs really feel like they belong together and the arrangements are absolutely delicious. Andrew Bird’s music makes me feel inadequate because he’s just so freaking talented, and unintelligent because his lyrics are brilliant/too smart for me. And I love every minute of my perceived stupidity when it means listening to music this good.
2. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
I’m kind of surprised by how much I ended up loving this album. It’s a massive improvement over 2007’s Fur and Gold, which wasn’t too shabby in the first place. Two Suns has all the high-running emotion and conflict of a typical breakup album, but with a heavy element of the fantastical and ethereal that makes it unique. It also sounds like what you would get if you took Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, and Bjork circa 1996 and tossed them in a blender. That’s cool with me.
Bat For Lashes - "Pearl's Dream"
1. Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor
A dark, winding journey through the furthest reaches of depression - but not without a light at the end of the maze. The Bachelor feels like the logical culmination of Patrick Wolf’s career up to this point, taking its cues from previous efforts Lycanthropy and Wind in the Wires as far as subject matter/instrumentation (moments of electronica here, moments of folk influence there), but all kicked up a notch in epic along the lines of 2007‘s The Magic Position. And even then, somehow, this album is all its own : it is angry and desperate and rebellious and despairing and just plain beautiful. Patrick’s creativity and bravery resonate with me and continue to inspire me.
Eventually I will post a full playlist of my top songs from 2009, including songs from albums that didn't make my list.