Well, it’s that time of year. Everybody is compiling their lists of Top What-Nots. As for me, I’ve never done such a thing. Such a thing is foreign to me. Listing things from descending order of awesomest to crappiest? That’s too much thinking! But for you, ETSers, anything.
2009 was a great year of discovering more music for your little Sara. I have to say, a great deal of thanks goes out to Mailo, Turrtle and Andy for that! Here at EnterTheShell.com, not only do we write and talk about music, but we help each other discover and understand all kinds of music that we probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. We’re like a brotherhood, here (since KY and I are the only women … Well, the closest you’ll get to women). We take care of each other musically, so I’m gonna try to take care of you! Pay attention! I wrote reviews on many of these releases, so be sure to click on them to revisit them if you choose to do so. Here is my list of the best albums of 2009:
Matt & Kim – Grand
The best album of 2009, Grand had me hooked ever since I saw that infamous Bacardi commercial which featured their song “Daylight.” Not to mention the promos for the show “Community” which also featured a Matt & Kim song: “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare.” When I discovered this album, I trashed whatever review I was working on for ETS because I had to get the word out to the masses that Grand is the best thing to come around in a very long time! The big beats, eerie synths and infectiously danceable tracks make this album the funnest and best album of the year!
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Passion Pit – Manners
If you are at all familiar with EnterTheShell.com or our Facebook page, you already know that I’m absolutely obsessed with Passion Pit. The moment I heard “Sleepyhead” while driving around during sunset in San Diego, I knew I had a new love. Passion Pit has become one of my very favorite bands and Manners showcases the pop band’s talents in the best way. If you don’t find yourself dancing to “Little Secrets,” “The Reeling” or “Sleepyhead” … Well, you just might be dead!
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Kid Cudi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day
Newcomer Kid Cudi has had a lot of help these days from the likes of Common and Kanye West to Ratatat and MGMT! His debut album is so diverse that you don’t know where it’ll go next, yet it holds your attention throughout. Whether it’s sampling Lady Gaga’s “” in “Make Her Say” or writing drugged out love songs (“Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part 1)“) Kid Cudi is in the “Pursuit of Happiness” and doesn’t give a shit what you think! I don’t care either, as long as he continues to make great albums like Man on the Moon: The End of Day.
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Florence + the Machine – Lungs
The debut from Florence Welch is chock full of layers and heavy hitting instruments, making Lungs one of the best albums of the year! Her voice compliments the music beautifully, making the whole album this ethereal experience for your ears. Lungs literally takes you away into another world! “Dog Days Are Over,” “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)” and “Kiss With a Fist” highlight this album, which ranges from poppy rock to a layered musical experience.
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Ida Maria – Fortress ‘Round My Heart
Here is yet another one of the many artists introduced to us by fellow blogger, Mailo! He’s got good taste and you’ll hear why when you listen to Fortress ‘Round My Heart. This punk rock queen is so real by not trying to sound overly pretty or anything; I love her raspy, cracky voice! With songs like “,” “Oh My God” and “Queen of the World,” how can you not love this chick? She’s such a badass and I love her for it!
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Mayer Hawthorne – A Strange Arrangement
Could it be that my love was meant for Mayer Hawthorne? Maybe YES! This breath of fresh air from Ann Arbor gave us some great Motown-esque sounds in A Strange Arrangement that remind us that you don’t need to change the formula to make great music. Hawthorne takes us back to the times when music made us carefree and took our mind off our problems. “Maybe So, Maybe No,” “Your Easy Lovin’ Ain’t Pleasin’ Nothin’” and his great cover of the Temptations song, “I Wish It Would Rain” show off Hawthorne’s talents for a great oldies-style album! And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a cute, geeky, skater!
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Say Anything – Say Anything
After a lost-on-me effort in In Defense of the Genre, Say Anything redeemed themselves to me with their self-titled release. It took me a while to warm up to it, but if finally happened and yes … I LOVE “Hate Everyone” now. I said in my previous review that it was your typical pop song and it definitely stuck in my head for days! Now that lead singer Max Bemis is a lot healthier mentally and even married, the happiness shines through in Say Anything. They say the best art comes from troubled artists; in the case of their breakout album … Is a Real Boy, that is definitely true! But Say Anything shows us that you can make music that is just as great when you’re feeling better about yourself! “Crush’d” is the perfect example of that while “Ahhh … Men,” “” and “Death for My Birthday” round out the highlights. Okay, so that last one isn’t particularly “happy” but hey, it’s a great song!
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
After a lukewarm reception to their sophomore album Show Your Bones, the Yeahs almost had a meltdown. Luckily for them, they got over their differences and recorded one of the best albums of the year! It’s Blitz! had the trio ditching much of their guitar-based rock sound and opted for a lot more synths and beat machines and Sara loves them for it! The indie/pop/disco sound is loud and awesome, as you discover immediately with the opening track, “Zero.” Other highlights are “Heads Will Roll,” “Skeletons” and “Dragon Queen.”
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Rodrigo y Gabriela – 11:11
This dynamic duo only needs 20 fingers, a couple picks and two acoustic guitars to melt your effing face off! Spanish guitar merged with metal is the formula for Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero’s amazing album 11:11. They are an instrumental outfit so you don’t have any lyric-interpreting to worry about. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy every little finger-picking move these two offer up to your ears. “Hanuman,” “Buster Voodoo” and “Tamacun” are super highlights in an album full of highlights! Seriously, you’ll be in awe of them when you see these live videos!
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Well there are your best albums of 2009! There were some really good albums released in 2009 that I just couldn’t disregard and ignore! Here are the albums that, though they didn’t make the cut for Best Album, received the “Honorable Mention” title. They are in no particular order:
- Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
- The Bird and the Bee – Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future
- Blitz the Ambassador – Stereotype
- Coconut Records – Davy
- Lee Fields – My World
- Imogen Heap – Ellipse
- Owl City – Ocean Eyes (That one’s for you, Dr. J!)
- Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
- Regina Spektor – Far
As with anything, to every good there is a bad. There weren’t very many disappointments for me, but there definitely were some, and here they are:
- The Used – Artwork :: I’ve been a fan of The Used ever since I heard “The Taste of Ink” on KROQ in high school. I’ve loved almost every other album they released (I only LIKED In Love and Death) until this one. This one was just horrible. Their single, “Blood On My Hands,” is pretty kickass and is the first song on the album. After that it’s just downhill. A really really steep hill. Okay, we’ll just say the album takes a dive off a cliff. Sorry, guys. You missed this time.
- Rhythms del Mundo – Classics :: Rhythms del Mundo put out an amazing album called Cuba, where popular songs were taken in their original form and remixed with timba (Cuban salsa) influences. Coldplay’s “Clocks” sounds amazing with short piano key strokes, acoustic guitar and horns! U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” takes on a whole new form when bongos, acoustic guitar and Spanish lyrics take hold! Unfortunately, Classics didn’t catch on with me as this album featured modern artists covering old songs with that same flavor of Cuban music. Even the inclusion of a song originally performed by one of my favorite OG R&B singers Sam Cooke (“Cupid” featuring Amy Winehouse) couldn’t save it for me! It’s not a horrible album, but I was just greatly disappointed after the greatness that was Cuba.
- Mayday Parade – Anywhere But Here :: I’ve always loved the way Derek Sanders’ and Jeremy Lenzo’s voices complimented each other even though they sounded so different. I really enjoyed their first two albums in that way where you always forget how much you like something until you’re hearing it again. I don’t know what it was about Anywhere But Here, but it just didn’t do it for me. The songs were weak and for some reason their voices didn’t compliment each other the same way. Did they get a new singer and didn’t tell me? Alls I know is, I only got halfway through the album when I already made the decision that it sucked.
And just in case you were wondering what I’m judging from, here are the rest of the albums that I was able to hear this year. Obviously, I wasn’t able to get to every single release but I tried my darnedest to cover a little something from various aspects. After all, I’m a struggling artist! I don’t have money to be spending willy nilly on every single release! These albums weren’t COMPLETELY horrible, but they just weren’t able to make the cut:
- The Thermals – Now We Can See
- Third Eye Blind – Ursa Major
- New Found Glory – Not Without a Fight
- Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
- Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
- The Almost – Monster Monster
- Sugar Ray – Music for Cougars
I hope you found this list useful or at least mildly entertaining and revealing. Perhaps you learned a little bit about Sara today? Let’s raise our glass to more great music in 2010!