My Ten (or so) Best Albums of 2009

I'm not a huge fan of "top" lists at the end of a year, or the end of a decade, mostly because they seem completely mandatory and cliched at this point. Still, I will admit that such lists are a good jumping off for talking about stuff that you should be indulging in, so they have their uses. I indulge mostly in music, so it seems a top ten list of the best album of 2009 is something I ought to give a try, and anyway it beats a top ten list of cheap wines. It would be more accurate to call this list my ten favorite albums of 2009 because though I listen to a lot of music, I don't listen to everything and I'm prone to missing completely notable albums here and there. Still, I think I've covered most of the bases and I'm not sure anybody can argue with me too much. Also, these are in no particular order because though I'm willing to eliminate some from "top" consideration, I most certainly am not going to rank albums that I consider on par with each other. Also, there's a bunch of honorable mentions because it's stuff you really ought to listen to, though maybe not as great as the ten I've listed here. So here you go:

1) Metric, "Fantasies." Despite what I just wrote seconds ago, I will go ahead and rank this as the best album of the year. By which I mostly mean it's my favorite, but I also do actually think it's one of the best albums of the year. Metric has been around for awhile now, but it seems like with this album they've finally found a fusion of pop, rock and indie sensibility that has produced some pretty catchy and likable tunes. Also, it doesn't hurt their ranking that I am completely in love with lead singer Emily Haines. Here's the video for the track "Gimme Sympathy" which is not my favorite song from the album, but which is my favorite video by the band (really, all videos should just be of whatever band playing in an interesting setting.)



2) The XX, "xx." Garnering this much critical acclaim is pretty impressive for a first studio album by a band full of recent high school grads. I think I like it so much because I tend to favor minimalistic approaches to pop music (with exceptions, as you'll see) and I'm impressed that anybody can do so much with such spare instrumentation. Here's the video for the song "Crystallized." Again, not my favorite song but I think it gives you a pretty good idea of what they're up to. Tell me you're not impressed by this group of punk kids, I dare you.



3) Wild Beasts, "Two Dancers." Critically acclaimed, but I get the impression that is one of those albums where you're either going to really like it, or really hate it. I don't know how otherwise is possible when you have a lead singer who unabashedly engages in such an abrasive falsetto, and the song lyrics are both so artful and crude. But again, I don't know how you can't praise a band that does so much with so little instrumentation. Here's the video for "Hooting and Howling", which is one of my favorite tracks off of their album.



4) Antony and the Johnsons, "The Crying Light." This is a beautiful album. I don't know how else to say it. Antony Hegarty writes songs about all sorts of difficult subjects, but has this incredible knack for taking subjects that seem strange, unusual or sad and making them see unique, wonderful and desirable. And speaking of falsettos...but I don't know how anyone can't think his voice is amazing after they listen for a bit. Here's the completely gorgeous video for "Epilepsy is Dancing."



5) Neko Case, "Middle Cyclone." Neko Case is known for her amazing voice, which can probably be characterized as "brassy" when she really lets go, but which can also be amazingly tender. She's also a fantastic song writer. Her previous album "Fox Cofessor Brings the Flood" was good, but I was put off by her tendency to use unconventional song structure to ill effect. That is not at all a problem on this album. Here's the video for "People Got Alot of Nerve."



6) Alice in Chains, "Black Gives Way to Blue." I wrote a lot more about this album down below, so here I'll just say this is a pretty good return for a band that hasn't released an album in fourteen years. I haven't actually figured out yet which track is my favorite, so will go with the first one off the album, "All Secrets Known." Well done guys, and welcome back.



7) Miike Snow, "Miike Snow." If this is what happens when you pair a relatively unknown lead singer with a great voice with a pair of songwriters from Sweden who've written hits for pop divas like Britney Spears, Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Jennifer Lopez, then that sort of thing really ought to happen more often. This is a nearly perfect combination of piano, electronica, and songwriting. Also, knowing that they're capable of making music like this, I'm less embarrassed to admit to kind of liking "Toxic." Here's my favorite track (and probably one of my favorite songs of the year) "Silvia."



8) Wilco, "Wilco." I'm a relative newcomer to Wilco, but I don't think you have to like the band (or even ever heard them before) to like this album. These guys can write some pretty catchy and lovely songs, and this album garners the rare distinction (for me) of being one of the ones where I like every track. You can tell this is a band that's been around a while and has perfected the art of songwriting, and who could probably write a great song in their sleep.



9) Dehtklok, "Dethalbum II." I pretty much grew up worshiping bands like Metallica and Megadeth, and though my tastes were greatly expanded by the grunge movement of the early 90s I've never given up my fondness for really loud, really fast metal music. Unfortunately,metal bands have mostly given up on creating really loud, really fast metal music that's any good. To some it may seem a commentary on a sad state of affairs that a comedic cartoon band has produced two of the best metal albums of the last few years, but who cares? It's not like metal music was ever meant to be taken that seriously anyway and if Brandon Small wasn't making this music with a cartoon band, he'd be tearing up a guitar with a real band somewhere anyway. Here's my favorite track, "Volcano." Turn it up to 11 suckers.



10) Mos Def, "The Ecstatic." I don't listen to a lot of hip hop, but I do listen to the good stuff, and Mos Def is definitely the good stuff. I love Mos Def's voice, and his willingness to be blatantly political, though he can be all over the place style-wise. But when he's on, he writes some pretty impressive raps, and I think this is far and away his best album yet. My favorite track from the album is Auditorium, produced with Madlib, who also happens to be the architect (with DOOM) of the genius album "Madvillainy."



Honorable Mentions: (No embedded videos, but follow the links for a listen.)

1. Julian Casablancas, "Phrazes for the Young." I may be partial to this album because I'm a huge Strokes fan, but I think Casablancas has the musical chops. He's sort of all over the place with this album, but what's good about it is pretty good, and so worth a mention.

2. Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse, "Dark Night of the Soul." This collaboration between two of my favorite musicians, Danger Mouse and Mark Linkous, features an all-star ensemble with the likes of Julian Casablancas, James Mercer (of The Shins), Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega, Vic Chesnutt and so on, and also featuring filmmaker David Lynch, who sang on a couple of tracks and provided photos for a book to be included with the album. The album has actually not been released for sale yet thanks to a legal dispute between Danger Mouse and EMI, but you can hear the whole thing at the link to NPR above. Hit or miss; with that many artists I don't think it's possible to produce a coherent album. But the good songs are really good.

3. Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix." Just some really good pop music. This album hasn't worn well with me, but I couldn't not mention it, given the buzz they've gotten.

4. PJ Harvey and John Parish, "A Woman a Man Walked By." I get the feeling that Harvey got together with Parish (who produced "White Chalk") to record an album she felt like she couldn't record under her name alone. Again it's hit or miss, but it's always interesting. The lead track "Black Hearted Love" may be one of my favorite songs of the year.

5. BEAK>, "BEAK>." If you liked the more psychedelic stuff from Portishead's "Third" (their 2008 album that's so fantastic I want to make it one of my top picks for 2009) then you'll really like BEAK>. It was recorded in less than two weeks and it sounds like it, but that's in no way a bad thing.

6. U2, "No Line on the Horizon." Not my favorite U2 album to be honest, but do they make anything bad? Any album they make deserves a spot on a retrospective list.

7. Great Lake Swimmers, "Lost Channels." This album barely escapes my top ten. If you like some Canadian folk music about simple and beautiful subjects, then this is the band for you. Their best album so far.

So, there you go! I'd love your thoughts, especially if you have recommendations for anything I missed. Now, I'm going to go listen to all of this stuff all over again.

UPDATED: Oh hell, I knew I'd forget somebody important. Andrew Bird's fourth studio album "Noble Beast" came out earlier this year. I don't think it's as good as "Armchair Apocrypha" so it doesn't make my top ten list, but Andrew Bird is an enormously talented musician who cranks out one great song after another. Anything he does is worth a listen, even if you're not a huge fan of wildly looped violin like I am.

"Black Gives Way to Blue"

I finally bought and listened to the new Alice in Chains album, "Black Gives Way to Blue." First, I have to say that it's hard to approach it without any sentiment. Alice in Chains is one of those cherished bands of my youth; they were one of the bands I really fell in love in high school and my early college days, when I was heavily influenced by the Grunge scene and about the time when I really started to figure out what my adult musical tastes were. The number of times I've listened to "Dirt" or any other Alice in Chains album probably numbers in the hundreds. And though my musical tastes have continued to evolve since that time, I've never really let go of my attachment to Alice in Chains. I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Layne Staley in 2002, and had assumed that without their signature frontman Alice in Chains were probably dead. And I was suspicious when I first heard that the band intended to record new material with a new singer, but gradually came around to the idea if only in the hope that they would produce something on par with their masterworks of the early 90s. While I don't think the new Alice in Chains rivals "Dirt" by any measure, I do have to say that it's not a bad way to start a comeback.

There's nothing extraordinarily new about the new album. A few reviewers have said it could've been recorded only a few years after their last album, the self-titled "Alice in Chains", released in 1995. That's true, but it could also easily be described as an album by a band that has a signature sound they won't abandon. By which I mean "Black Gives Way to Blue" doesn't really sound like any other Alice in Chains album, but everything anyone likes about Alice in Chains (absent Layne Staley's tortured howling) is still there. The songs are grinding, churning and droning affairs, but Jerry Cantrell hasn't lost his preference for spooky, sliding guitar hooks and riffs. I think it's interesting that there are now "fast" songs anywhere to be found. All of the songs are slow, even plodding to some extent. There's nothing wrong with that; Alice in Chains best songs are slow, pounding hammers to the skull.

I've read some reviewers who say that William DuVall sounds like Layne Staley, or "enough" like Layne Staley anyway. This isn't exactly true. William DuVall only sounds like Layne Staley in a very few instances on the album. I think what those reviewers are hearing is that DuVall and Cantrell together sound a lot like Staley and Cantrell used to sound like together. Given how prominent their duet singing is in Alice in Chains' music (most of "Alice in Chains" features Cantrell and Staley together, or Cantrell alone) it's no surprise that this resemblance should catch the ear.

Overall I will say, if you like the sound of Alice in Chains and can live without the signature voice of Layne Staley, you'll like this album. That might be too much to ask for some devoted fans who miss Staley's voice. But the musical foundation of the band, in the form of Cantrell, is still there for the enjoying. Here's to another Alice in Chains album, and the sooner the better.

Dreams

I found Chris Cornell's thoughts on a dream he had of former Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley to be quite poignant. Dreams are very powerful, for being so insubstantial. Only in a dream can you feel exactly as you would feel were that situation to happen to you, as your mind doesn't know the difference (well, mine doesn't anyway.) And it is very odd to dream of people you haven't thought of or seen in some time, and how pervasive thinking about that person can be until the effects of the dream wear off.

Woven Hand: Ten Stones

I discovered Woven Hand, and David Eugene Edwards, the band's frontman and driving creative force, while listening to an All Songs Considered podcast in 2006. The song I heard, "Winter Shaker", was quite unlike anything I've ever heard before (or since, for that matter.) The music is dark, strange and compelling. Even stranger was the song's odd (but gripping) mixture of Native American rhythms with Christian themes, and the song ends with Edwards imitating the particular styles of Native American singers, his voice rising in a high pitch and warbling as he cries out for a "quaking in the person." There's no mistaking the Christian overtones in his songs (Edwards is blatant about the religiosity of his songs) but never had I heard any "Christian" music like this before.  

No doubt, Edwards is a Christian artist. I've heard no song of his that doesn't reference God, Christ or his religion in some sense, and many of his songs are blatantly Christian, as he sings about judgment, redemption, or the challenge of faith. But it is impossible to associate Edwards with other more popular Christian artists; his music lacks the sentimentality, sappiness and repetitiveness of contemporary Christian music, and most of his songs can hardly be described as "uplifting." But because his music is so odd and yet so powerful, Edwards has attracted a following among lovers of indie music (such as myself) as well as devout Christians dissatisfied with contemporary Christian pop. 

After hearing "Winter Shaker" I immediately bought the album Mosaic. I was stunned and amazed by the variety of musical stylings Edwards is capable of; the songs "Swedish Purse" begins with a banjo and an organ, a combination that works in a manner that's difficult to describe. Edwards concocts his own language for "Slota Prow", an idea that sounds over-the-top until you hear the song. Songs like "Swedish Purse" and "Whistling Girl" are urgent, and nearly all of the songs are dark, or grim, but then we hear "Bible and Bird", a pleasant, folksy and not at all dark instrumental.

Consider the Birds, released in 2004, is much the same. The music on both albums is dominated by a "southern gothic" feel, as songs can deal with dark and troubling themes that nonetheless illustrate the power of redemption, and the music itself can be an odd blend of banjo, hurdy gurdy, guitar, keyboards, piano, violins or cellos, and drums or other assorted percussion instruments.

I expected more of the same from Woven Hand's newest release, Ten Stones, which came out in September. I was surprised and not at all disappointed to be wrong. Edwards takes a different turn with Ten Stones, crafting an album that's somewhat more traditional but no less arresting. Instead of eerie folk music, we have blatant guitars and pounding drums, a more traditional rock sounds that's still infused with Edwards signature and effective oddities (more hurdy gurdy) though in different settings now. Native American themes arise in songs like "Kicking Bird" and "Iron Feather", though the songs are faster and louder now. The songs most like his prior work are probably "Kingdom of Ice", a song that is (as near as I can tell) about a war horse preparing for battle, and "His Loyal Love." Although the music differs to a large extent from his prior work, the power of the music does not.

His music is no less compelling for this different approach. Edwards singing brings to mind images of Old Testament prophets, imploring their audiences to see the light and threatening damnation and retribution if they do not. While this message is largely camafloged by the quiet beauty of songs like "Chest of Drawers" from Consider the Birds ("The world will bow; The knees will be broken for those who don't know how) it is not at all quiet on Ten Stones; the messages of damnation and retribution are not at all softened by the music on Ten Stones.

I am not a Christian, but never have I heard more compelling "Christian" music than that produced by Edwards. The message in Edwards music-that God is on his way and that you'd better get your act together-has been repeated countless times throughout thousands of years of human history. And yet, rarely has it been as compelling-even to nonbelievers such as myself-as it is here, when pared with music of such power and uniqueness. I strongly suspect that Edwards' music has brought around more people disinclined towards Christianity than any of the ham-handed music you'll find on Christian stations these days. That being said, you don't have to be a Christian, or even approve of Edwards' message, to think that the man knows how to write a great song.

New Alice in Chains Album

I had assumed that the death of Layne Staley meant an end to another one of my formerly favorite bands, Alice in Chains. Apparently I was wrong, as they are now in the studio recording a new album with a new frontman whom I've never heard of. Staley's tortured voice simply can't be replaced, but I'll probably give this new incarnation of AIC a chance.

Also, in reading about AIC I stumbled across this old interview with Staley that came out a year after his death. Staley, like many rockers, was tortured by an addiction to drugs that he knew was killing him, and yet he seemed powerless to do anything about it. Staley's anguish produced many of AIC's greatest songs, but he paid too high a price for his fame and success.

Chinese Democracy

Is there a better way to kick off a music blog than by reviewing the most anticipated album of the late 20th/early 21st century, Guns n' Roses "Chinese Democracy"? I don't think so. In fact, this album and the story behind it seems tailor-made for someone with a blog, strong opinions and too much time on their hands. 

From the outset I should say that Chinese Democracy has for the longest time been treated as the punchline to a joke about the state of Axl Rose's career (or mental health.) I once half-jokingly opined to my co-bloggers that the process of making Chinese Democracy, and not the final product itself, had become Axl Rose's raison d'etre. But it's here and all kidding aside, I have to say that it's not that bad. But more on that in a minute.

It's entirely impossible to write about the music on Chinese Democracy without addressing the considerably backstory to the album. The last GnR album, a series of covers titled The Spaghetti Incident, was released in 1993. The last true predecessors to Chinese Democracy, Use Your Illusion I and II, were released in 1991. For anyone that's an incredible period of time between releases, but for me that was fully half my life ago. While Guns n' Roses was tearing up MTV, I was wading through my sophomore year of high school. For me there's a weird sort of instant nostalgia that comes attached to Chinese Democracy, as a whiff of anything Guns n' Roses takes me way back to that hugely formative period of my life. But I've also lived a considerable amount of life during the time Axl Rose has spent putting Chinese Democracy together; I can't quite remember when I first heard mention of the new project by name, but it had to have been sometime mid-way through my college career, a period that seems like ages ago. And thanks to periodic announcements by Rose that the new album was imminent, the discussion of a new GnR album would pop up among my friends regularly now and again. So in a very odd way, this new album seems both very new and very old at the same time. 

At the same time, I haven't exactly remained a stalwart GnR fan. There was certainly a time when I would have listed GnR as one of my favorite bands (if not the favorite) but my musical tastes have changed considerably since 1991, and I don't listen to many bands these days who would probably count GnR as one of their inspirations. And though as good as classic GnR is in the form of Appetite for Destruction and the Use Your Illusion albums, I've listened to all three literally hundreds of time since I first bought the albums and it's been somewhere in the area of five or more years since I've listened to even one of the Illusion tracks. To be frank, I simply lost patience waiting for a new album. The kind of music I liked was changing and the relevance of Illusion I and II faded. But for those periodic rumors (and jokes) about Chinese Democracy from time to time, I had moved on. 

And it seemed that for the most part, GnR had moved on as well. Essentially the band distintigrated, as Axl Rose drove off one after another of the original members until the only remaining band members from the Illusion days were himself and Dizzy Reed, the keyboardist who is not an original member but signed on in 1990, close enough to the origin of the band that we might as well consider him an original. Axl's eccentricities have been well-documented, and apparently he drove out his bandmates in an effort to monopolize the music the band was producing. Unfortunately this successful effort to completely take over the band and reduce GnR to the Axl Rose solo project left him with all the responsibility for its output, and paradoxically it may have been this total control that left him psychologically  unable to actually finish a record until he was essentially forced to by the studios. 

But it's finally here and while I would not say that Chinese Democracy is going to have me attending a GnR concert in a vintage Appetite for Destruction concert t-shirt anytime soon, some of that old enthusiasm for the band has returned thanks to the new album.

First, the criticisms. Yes, the album is over-produced. The bloated and over-the-top style of rock that is epitomized in Illusion I and II is present in Democracy as well, and if you didn't like it in 1991 you're not going to like it now. Axl Rose has certainly never subscribed to the musical philosophy that less is more, as some of the songs on Democracy are simply drowning in sound. Even relatively straight-forward rock songs like Shackler's Revenge have more going on in the song than is really necessary, and elements like the french horns in the background of Madagascar are completely uncessary; they add nothing to the song, and detract from the melody. Also, some of the tracks do seem like they were written close in time to the Illusion period, as there's nothing new or distinguishing about them (There Was A Time comes to mind.) 

That being said, anyone who thinks Democracy is merely Use Your Illusion III is mistaken. There is some genuinely interesting music on this album. Shackler's Revenge has a sort of nu-metal vibe, Better is a great modern rock song, and I'm honestly not sure what to make of If The World beyond the fact that it's a great song and not at all something I would imagine GnR could put together. Some of the guitar solos are blistering as good rock guitar solos should be, and Axl Rose's voice is in fine form even though he's a little older and a little slower. And nothing can change the fact that Axl can still write a great hook for a song; many songs are filled with passages that you find humming to yourself afterwards even if you can't quite remember the lyrics or the rest of the song. 

So overall, I'm not really disappointed. No album could possibly live up to over a decade of artifically induced hype, and it almost certainly would have been better for Rose's image had he simply disappeared from the public eye for a decade before magically popping up out of the blue to present Chinese Democracy. The new album will hardly make GnR (or Axl Rose, since he is essentially the band) a household name again; even were it a work of complete musical genius no music could overcome the baggage or drama that has accompanied this album through its composition (no album that can fairly be equated with a mythological creature can possibly be considered on its musical merits alone.) Still, if Axl Rose is preparing himself for a sturdy climb back to relevance and popularity, Democracy isn't a bad way to start. The album is probably good enough to bring some old fans like myself back around and recruit some new ones to boot. But Rose should avoid squandering the good will of those either waited patiently or have come back around. New albums, already rumored to be in the offing, need to come out soon if Axl Rose is to avoid being consigned to the dustbin of music history.

The Beginning

Welcome! If you're reading this, it is certainly because you stumbled across this blog by accident looking for something else. My other blog is a little more noteworthy but if you've found this one, truly you are impressive with the Google. This blog is not intended for public consumption but neither is it private, so feel free to stay and read if you like.

The purpose of this blog is to discuss music. I've run a political blog for years now, but for various reasons I've never really felt comfortable jumping from an analysis of the after-effects of an election in one post to a review of some new indie rock album in another, so I've shied away from writing about music as much as I'd like at that blog. Lately thought I've run across some really good albums that I've really wanted to write about, and been faced with the prospect of either suddenly blogging about music more at a political blog, spamming my friends with emails about bands that they may or may not care about, or not writing about those great albums at all. Since I obviously have no desire to keep all my fantastic thoughts to myself, the solution is a blog that is to focus entirely on music.

Obviously I am not paid to critique music, or I wouldn't need a free blog to do so. The reason I am not paid to critique music is because I don't know music as well as music critics do (who, despite their often useless opinions, still do actually know a lot of music and a lot about music.) Fortunately, I am not holding this blog out as a provider of serious music criticism. This is merely a forum for my thoughts on music that I happen to hear, which means I may not be writing about the latest indie rock sensation because I haven't gotten around to buying or listening to that album, and I don't really have to worry about being all that informed or insightful in my opinions. Truly this blog is for my own amusement. But no opinion worth having is not worth sharing.

So that's that. Let's begin.