my life//in medias res*

My 25 Favorite Albums of 2009

January 1st, 2010 at 5:51 am by sillyjoe (Music)

It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? Anyway, I made this list for the .net, but thought I should put it here and expound on it a bit, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll start the new year off with some blogitude and keep it rolling. 2009 was the year I decided to read more and to keep up with it. I read 53 books in all, which averages out to a book a week…you’ll hear more about that in a future post. So 2010? 2010 is going to be the year I blog more. I’ve decided. This is happening. I hope the one or two of you who may find this hold me to that. Anyway, Happy New Year and all that….let’s get on to the music. I’ll post this in alphabetical order by artist, because I didn’t want to rank them. However there is one album that rose above them all…..

The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You was without a doubt my favorite album of the year, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as anyone who really knows me knows my love for the two brothers from Carolina and their two compatriots on the bass and cello. I was worried about the release of this album, to be honest. The Avetts’ previous studio work always managed to capture the raw energy of their live show, and I had a bit of apprehension considering this would be their first major label release, and the first time they hadn’t produced their own work. The fact that Rick Rubin would be producing the record quelled my apprehension a bit, but it was still there. On release day, all worry faded away. The combination of Rubin’s production and the fellas’ songwriting was perfect. The result is a polished but not too polished, affecting record of ballads. I and love and this record.

David Bazan – Curse Your Branches is a record about crisis of faith…and the eventual loss of that faith. The emotion effect it has when I listen to it is hard to explain. I still have the faith that Bazan seems to have lost, but I understand his questions, his doubts. I identify with his lyrics, even at their most accusing of the God I trust. It can be hard not to.

The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love: Epic. That’s really the only word for this album. Start to finish, one long tale of awesomeness.

Derek Webb – Stockholm Syndrome: Derek’s usually controversial. He’s also usually playing an acoustic guitar, as opposed to a bass and some synths. I like the change. It seems my musical taste is always moving, and somehow Derek always manages to be in my wheelhouse.

Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Elvis Perkins in Dearland: This was a late find. By late, I mean I didn’t listen to it until about a week ago, when I saw that it was in Paste Magazine’s top 3 on their Albums of the Year list. So I gave it a listen, and it really is fantastic. This guy can write a song.

The Felice Brothers – Yonder is the Clock: The Felice Brothers are a band that seem to be from another time. When you hear a song like “Loves Me Tenderly” from their eponymous album, you get the feeling this music’s been recorded for nearly a century, when it’s new as designer jeans (you know, the ones that are distressed to LOOK old). The 2009 release from the Brothers Felice (nice rhyme) has the same old-timey quality that I can’t help but love.

Florence and the Machine – Lungs: Another late find for me. Florence Welch’s voice falls somewhere between Annie Lennox and Etta James. That’s a strange combination, one that I find endlessly interesting. Adding to this interesting concoction is the White Stripes-y indie-soul-infused-rock that backs her voice.

Great Lake Swimmers – Lost Channels: I expected to find this album on more end-of-year lists than it’s appeared on. This is one of the many indie-folk albums I fell in love with this year. There’s a Neil Young tinge in Tony Dekker’s voice that’s a popular sound these days. It sounds best here.

Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest: Can’t say much that hasn’t been said by the zillions of reviewers who’ve raved about this album in the past months. So I won’t. It’s just really good.

Jay-Z – Blueprint 3: Hey, I listen to rap, too. In this album, HOV declared the Death of Auto-tune, made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can, and ran this town. And guess what? He really is the Frank Sinatra of the rap game.

Langhorne Slim – Be Set Free: Langhorne’s another artist that seems to belong in another time. The production here is modern, but Langhorne’s whiskey-drenched voice belongs in the age of Bob Dylan. “I Love You, But Goodbye” was one of my go-to songs during my horrible break-up earlier this year.

M. Ward – Hold Time: I’m admittedly late to the party when it comes to M. Ward. The first time I heard him, a few years ago, there was something about his voice that bothered me. Thank God I got over that. Ward’s usual moralistic themes are accompanied by one of the simplest, catchiest love songs I’ve ever heard (“Never Had Nobody Like You”)

Metric – Fantasies: This was a mid-year find that I was really happy about. I’m a sucker for good female-fronted indie-rock bands with a hint of synth. Metric is yet another band spawned from the Canadian musical juggernaut known as Broken Social Scene.

Mindy Smith – Stupid Love: Patty Griffin, Alison Krauss, Leigh Nash, Sandra McCracken, Norah Jones. The world is full of really talented singer-songwriters. Mindy Smith is one of them. We’re very blessed. This entire album is good, but would make the list only for “Love Lost,” another one of those songs I clung to during the aforementioned break-up.

Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk: M. Ward. Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Conor Oberst. Mike Mogis. I really don’t think anything else needs to be said.

Mos Def – The Ecstatic: If Jay-Z is the Frank Sinatra of rap, Mos Def is Dean Martin. He’s the ultimate triple threat in the rap world, singing rapping and acting his way to stardom. I still can’t figure out why his albums don’t go platinum. “Life In Marvelous Times” is right up there with Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” as best rap song of the year for me.

The Mountain Goats – The Life of the World to Come: Before this album, I had trouble “getting” the Mountain Goats. The music seemed good enough to me, the songwriting good…I just couldn’t get into any of it for reasons I couldn’t decipher. This look at religion and life through the lens of the Bible is fascinating to me. And with it, I finally “got” this band.

needtobreathe – The Outsiders: Just listen to the title track and you’ll see why I love this album. These guys represent a part of the CCM world I wish we could see more. They’re out on their own making the music they want to make, and the result is fantastic and fun. Bear Rinehart (a friggin’ cool name) has one of those instantly recognizable, stay-with-you voices.

Paper Route – Absence: A beautiful mix of indie-rock and electro, I love this band. 2009 was the year I got way into electro music, and these guys were partly the reason. Biggest standout track for me is the haunting “Are We All Forgotten”

Passion Pit – Manners: Like I said…the year of electro music. This album makes me want to dance endlessly and only sing in falsetto.

Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: Near perfect pop music. Andrew Osenga said on his twitter feed this album nearly made him want to give up making music. I understand.

Sarah Jarosz – Song Up In Her Head: An early-fall find, thanks to a Paste Magazine sampler. Great mando-centric new-grass. She’s young, but a fantastic songwriter.

The Swell Season – Strict Joy: Finally, a genuine full-length album from the duo that starred in the great film Once. The writing/recording of the songs from Once seemed to bring them together romantically, and this album is the record of that romance’s falling apart. “Low Rising” would feel perfectly at home on an old Van Morrison record, and “I Have Loved You Wrong” is the perfect mix of sad and beautiful.

Wilco – Wilco: I can’t really imagine Wilco releasing an album and that album not appearing on my favorites list. I didn’t love this album as much as I loved Sky Blue Sky, but it’s not for lack of quality. A fantastic duet with Feist (“You and I”) and the anthemic “I’ll Fight” are my two favorite tracks on this album.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It’s Blitz: A year ago if you’d asked me anything about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs all I could tell you is that they did that one song that’s on Rock Band. Really. Never got on that bandwagon (although yes, “Maps” is a great song, and fun to play Rock Band drums to), but this album changed that. This is the epitome of indie-pop-rock. Karen O is hot and charismatic and fun.

So that’s it, my 25 favorite albums of the past year. If you read this, and don’t have some of them, I encourage you to check them out…they’ve all stuck with me throughout this year.