We All Want Someone To Shout For

It’s January 31st, and I am pretty sick right now. I have been pushing aside doing write ups for my top albums of 2009. I just haven’t been able to find the time. It is late January and I am just getting my list out now. The blurbs would feel forced if I got them out by today, so I decided not to force the issue and to just give you the list without blurbs.

2009 was a pretty good year in music overall. I spent countless hours with these albums making great memories with my friends, and rocking out to them blasting away in my room or my car. These were the finest albums in my mind, and 2009 would not have been the same without them.

We started it off strong with Animal Collectives MPP, and I thought it would be my #1 for sure. Then Grizzly Bear came knocking with Veckatimest. I thought for sure those would be my 1 and 2. However, the Arctic Monkeys came back darker and recharged the fanboy within me. However, Phoenix came out of no where to deliver one of the finest albums of 2009, blowing the competition out of the water. We had very solid debuts with The XX, Local Natives, and Passion Pit, along with stunning albums from the likes of The Antlers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

So without anymore hesitation here are my 25 favorite albums of 2009:

25. The Dodos – Time To Die

24. The Horrors – Primary Colours

23. Doves – Kingdom Of Rust

22. Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You

21. Handsome Furs – Face Control

20. Florence + The Machine – Lungs

19. Neon Indian – Psychic Chasms

18. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Up From Below

17. Julian Casablancas – Phrazes For The Young

16. Harlem Shakes – Technicolor Health

15. Discovery – LP

14. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca

13. Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

12. Freelance Whales – Weathervanes

11. Girls – Album

10. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!

8. Local Natives – Gorilla Manor

7. Passion Pit – Manners

6. The Antlers – Hospice

5. The xx – xx

4. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest

3. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug

2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

1. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club are back with a brand new single titled “Beat The Devil’s Tattoo”, off of their new album, sharing the same title. The song is strong offering from the band who are back with new drummer Leah Shapiro, who fits in perfectly.

The song is romping garage rocker filled with a hint of southern flair. You can always count on BRMC to bring on real rock. They always know how to bring rock and roll back from it’s roots, with style!

Beat The Devil’s Tatoo is due on March 9th,

[mp3] : Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Beat The Devil’s Tattoo

JJ‘s new album jj n° 3 leaked & found its way to me today. I’m not complaining. Just like jj n° 2, it is a perfect headphone album.

One of the songs that stood out to me right off the bat is “And Now”. Her otherworldly vocals fit like a perfect puzzle piece over the beautiful strings. Add in tropical drumming, some light electronic effects, and acoustic guitar and you have the gem, “And Now”.

A few songs later, and I became very intrigued by the beauty of the song “Light”. Something about it’s atmosphere reminded me of the song used towards the end of Slumdog Millionare when Jamal is finally reunited with Latika. It was a touching scene that was highlighted by the music. Something about “Light” really reminded me of the song & that moment, which is a good thing!

I ran through the album once, and enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know if it is better than n° 2, but it is way too early to compare. I think people will be pleased for the most part with this album. JJ are really coming into their own as a band and letting people know that they are the real deal with another consistent album.

[mp3] : jj – And Now

[mp3] : jj – Light

jj is set to release on 3/9, keep an eye out for pre-order info at sc

The Knife’s new album Tomorrow, In A Year is available to stream here. The album is a collaborative project with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock based on an experimental opera based on Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.

Got another new Goldfrapp song from Head First for you guys. I gave you their single “Rocket” a few days ago, and now I got “Believer” for you. This is the 2nd leak from the new album, and I think I prefer it to Rocket (pretty close call though). The song title is fitting because it has a lush dreamy vibe throughout. Goldfrapp really leave a mark with this one. It could pass as an 80s classic with its light synths and satisfying bassline. But it is Alison’s sexy vocals that really set this track right. She really hits the right chord on Believer making every man, woman, and child swoon.

With two solid songs in a row, it is really making me regret never taking a deeper look into Goldfrapp before now. I will take the advice you left me in the comment section of my Rocket post and give those albums a go.

You can pre-order Head First from Play, it comes out the 22nd of March!

[mp3] : Goldfrapp – Believer

Anyone who uses twitter & follows album links was most likely a dedicated follower of diditleak. It was a twitter account and website that updated the world on all the big/small album leaks. The user remained complete anonamys and hit in the shadows. They had no intrest in fame. Their only concern was keeping the music community updated with all the new music leaking into the web. With over 12,000 followers on twitter it was safe to say that they made it pretty far. Notice my use of the past tense.

Diditleak’s last update was on January 5th for Vampire Weekend’s Contra. He has not updated since, nor will he ever again. That is because Alan Carton, the man behind diditleak, passed away.

Village Voice wrote a really touching piece about Alan Carton and his sad journey towards illness. They talk to his mother about his sickness, and how he continued to update his site even while he was sickly ill. It is a great article that really tells you a lot about Alan’s dedication for his site. It kept him going. I can relate to that because this website often gets me through my days.

Read the article here, it is a must read!

RIP Alan

GorillavsBear’s Chris had a chat with Panda Bear’s publicist and confirmed that Noah Lennox is indeed releasing a new album this year called Tomboy. It was a longstanding rumor, and it can finally put all the Animal Crackheads at ease. It will come out sometime in September via Paw Tracks.

This just adds to my excitement for 2010′s release calendar! I posted a little something from Person Pitch to remind you of Panda Bear’s greatness:

[mp3] : Panda Bear – Good Girl/Carrots

(image from webinfront)

Anyone who likes music would have loved to pay out of the ass to see Radiohead perform a one off show in LA. Unfortunatly most of us don’t live in the LA area, and couldn’t afford the prices even if we did!

Luckily for us, the internet is around and people are kind enough to record the show for us. Webinfront.net took some time to upload the entire show and stream it from their site. I gotta find some free time tonight and check it out. I’m sure it is going to sound great!

Listen to the show right over at webinfront or just download it here

Memory Tapes posted a chill remix of Phoenix’s “1901″. on his blog today After hearing this remix you begin to understand why Memory Tapes is categorized into a genre called chillwave.

Phoenix probably approve of this. At least I certainly do!

[mp3] : Phoenx – 1901 (Memory Tapes Mix)

The Tallest Man On Earth is one of my favorite singer/songwriters of “our generation”. He alongside fantastic artists like Sufjan Stevens have found many ways to move me emotionally. All it takes for The Tallest Man On Earth to move you is his voice and his acoustic guitar.  His newest song “King Of Spain” was just released in order to prep us for his new album The Wild Hunt.

When listening to Kristian Matsson sing, it is pretty tough not to think about Bob Dylan. Kristian’s voice is not too shy of sounding Dylan-esque, especially with the amount of passion that he pours into songs like “King Of Spain”. He dives head first into the track singing a heartfelt melody about craving something more in life.

Get ready for The Wild Hunt to move you like no other. The Tallest Man On Earth is making a big push as one of the prominent folk artists of this new decade.

[mp3]: The Tallest Man On Earth – King Of Spain