Thursday, December 31, 2009

Best Music of '09

How can a blog dedicated to wistful reviews of pop culture artifacts publish a best of 2009 list? Well, what else could I possibly publish on December 31, 2009? Y2K nostalgia? I think not.

Far be it from me to declare these the "best" songs of 2009, but they certainly are some of my favorites from this year. I limited the list to 22 selections, if only because the combined length of these songs would fill a CD were I making a mix CD (had I anyone to make a mix CD for).

Here goes:

1. "Marrow" - St. Vincent
2. "Blood Bank" - Bon Iver
3. "All for the Best" - Thom Yorke
4. "The Right" - Lou Barlow
5. "Rave On" - M. Ward
6. " I And Love And You" - The Avett Brothers
7. "Heads Will Roll" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
8. "Last Dance" - The Raveonettes
9. When the Night Comes - Dan Auerbach
10. "People Got A Lotta Nerve" - Neko Case
11. "Sing Sang Sung" - Air
12. "No Line On The Horizon" - U2
13. "Singing the Joy To The World" - Fruit Bats
14. "Words of Love" - Jessica Lea Mayfield
15. "She Watches Over Me" - Elvis Perkins
16. "Daniel" - Bat for Lashes
17. "While You Wait For The Others" - Grizzly Bear
18. "Velvet" - The Big Pink
19. "All Is Love" - Karen O and The Kids
20. "You and I" - Wilco
21. "1901" - Phoenix
22. "Black Cloud" - Morrissey

Interestingly, fifty years after the death of Buddy Holly, two covers of his songs (by M. Ward and Jessica Lea Mayfield) make the list. Technically, Yeah Yeah Yeahs appear twice, first with its "Heads Will Roll" from the It's Blitz album, and again in the form of Karen O and The Kids (which included both of Ms. O's bandmates from the YYYs). Morrissey earns a spot on the list, despite the fact that (a) his best work remains 1986's The Queen Is Dead (with the Smiths, of course) and (b) he is an insufferably pretentious tool. Thom Yorke, who would of course make the list, actually had three new tracks out this year, the other two being "Hearing Damage" from the New Moon soundtrack and Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)," released online. Really, Muse would have, should have made the list, but Glenn Beck's professed fondness for "Uprising," the first track off their 2009 album, "The Resistance," killed it for me. Alas.

3 comments:

Steven said...

Muse's "Uprising" doesn't deserve a listing in this company beyond the Beck favor. It is entirely an passionless formulation for a would-be call to arms.

I'm unsurprised an uninspired hack like Beck likes it.

Ransom said...

When it comes to Muse, they shall always have the benefit of the doubt in my mind, if only for "Ruled by Secrecy" from the Absolution album.

Natalie said...

Ooh, ooh. Will you make me a mix CD?

P.S. My captcha word is "cileals." I think it means that I am watching waaaay too much TV without a DVR (yes, it is the hell it sounds like) that I immediately saw it as an anagram for Cialis. (And, yes, I realize that it isn't really an anagram for Cialis.)