Best of 2009! Kind of. Well, some of them.

The holiday season has proven to be a very slow one around my workplace, lending me lots of time to browse website after website of Best Of 2009 music lists. Everyone from NPR nerds and Pitchfork elitists to no-name indie bloggers such as myself have their choices - some good, some predictable (see also: overrated) and some Ive never heard of.
Initially I thought Id make a rambling list with no real order to it (too chaotic!). Then I thought Id make a list for every genre I liked (too daunting!). Finally, Ive decided that it just has to be done. The challenge must be accepted; Im gonna just have to make an all-genre, covers-all-bases list. Yikes. The very thought makes my music brain seize up. Im gonna do myself a favor and not list anything in any specific order...that'd just be too much for me to handle. Theres so many more I could mention - this list could honestly go for pages and pages. However, without being long winded this is the most concise and evenly spread from one genre to the other collection I could see fitting into this space.
Anyway, lets get on with the show!


Themselves - "CrownsDown"
How has no site that Ive stumbled across mentioned the latest full length from Themselves as one of their faves this year? HOW?! Its no secret that DoseOne is one of my favorite artists, so forgive me for sounding a bit biased but Im going to ask again...how?! Its been six years since a new album from Themselves and the strength of each ten tracks on CrownsDown more than makes up for the absence. Dose's polyrhythmic and incredibly fast rhymes would knock any other would-be emcee on their ass and no doubt Jel's programming can run circles around most anyone else. Artists to the truest definition, Themselves have created another masterpiece. These guys just make it look so easy! If they come to a town near you, GO SEE THEM. And stop stealing their music online, would ya? (Dose: "Would you burn my friend, Jeffery Logan, Jel, with a cigarrette?" Crowd: "No!" Dose: "Then why would you burn him with a CD-R?")
(Video below by ME!)





Fever Ray - "s/t"
From start to finish this album has a looming, spooky sound that feels like the musical equivalent of a monster under your bed; its gonna hide in the corners, sharpen its claws when you arent looking and sneak up on you in the middle of the night. It literally took quite nearly a year for Karin Dreijer Andersson's haunting voice and layers of sound to sink its teeth into me even though I bought the album just a few months after its release in January. I was skeptical; I love the Knife and feared her solo endeavor would feel either too similar or too strained. Neither is the case. Its definitely not a summertime sound - the atmosphere on the album is very bleak and see-your-breath-in-the-air chilly.



Felt - "3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez"
Slug and Murs rapping over production by Aesop Rock?! Yes fucking please! Ive seen a lot of flack from reviewers saying that the album is too dark (and all seem to be pointing fingers at Aesop for that) but I have no complaints on that end at all. While good, the first two Felt albums were very similar stylistically so the departure from their safe zone is a nice surprise. The lyrics are still snarky, the sarcasm is still laid thick and the pop/sub-culture references are still relevant and humorous so why not change it up musically, right?




Spinnerette - "s/t"
I seem to appreciate something that a lot of people dont anymore; a really great rock album. I grow tired of trying to label bands in a sea of increasingly ridiculous genres (Pornogrind? Pirate metal? Ugh, whatever.) and sometimes just want my rock to sound, well...rockin. Even more rare than a great rock debut is a great girl-fronted rock band, period. As a pretty big Distillers fan I was super bummed that they announced theyd split up in 2006. Brody Dalle had made mention of Spinnerette being a reality not long after the Distillers parted ways, and the self titled album was well worth the wait. The band definitely has guts and a keen ear for melody that paired with Brody's ballsy, take-no-prisoners attitude and a gravely growl that can turn pretty on a dime made for an impressive debut release. My fingers are crossed that no matter what she calls the band, Brody Dalle will be involved in music for a long time. Plus...shes totally hot, you gotta admit.



Converge - "Axe to Fall"
Alright, heres the review thats gonna be lost on everyone because I seem to be the only person I know who really loves super-heavy music. Converge is a band that people either love or despise - most anyone Ive ever introduced them to falls to the second column. I dont know how to describe why I like them so much without having it sound way too simple. Because of the fact that Jake Bannons vocals are so brutal that they sound more like an instrument than a voice box? Because their production values, talent and sequencing on every album since Jane Doe is unmatched by any other artist in their genre? Because they dont really have a genre? Because theyre consistent? I dunno. The list goes on...


There. Now you can never say Im not diverse.