The 2009 Magazine Albums Of The Year Thread For Posting Lists and Discussion.

Rock-A-Rolla Magazine Top 30
1 Zu - Carboniferous (Ipecac)
2 Sunn o))) - Monoliths & Dimensions (Southern Lord)
3 Richard Youngs - Under Stellar Stream (Jagjaguwar)
4 Khanate - Clean Hands Go Foul (Hydra Head)
5 Celan - Halo (Exile On Mainstream)
6 Converge - Axe To Fall (Epitaph)
7 Cobalt - Gin (Profound Lore)
8 Jello Biafra & The Guantanamo School Of Medicine (Alternative Tentacles)
9 El Grupo De Omar Rodriguez Lopez - Cryptomnesia (RLP)
10 Part Chimp - Thriller (Rok Action)
11 Sonic Youth - The Eternal (Matador)
12 Secret Chiefs 3 - Le Mani Destre Recise... (Web Of Mimicry)
13 Pissed Jeans - King Of Jeans (Sub Pop)
14 Kong - Snake Magnet (Brew)
15 Slayer - World Painted Blood (American)
16 Eagle Twin - The Unkindness Of Crows (Southern Lord)
17 Gnaw - This Face (Conspiracy)
18 Baroness - Blue Record (Relapse)
19 The Flaming Lips - Embryonic (Warner)
20 Dälek - Gutter Tactics (Ipecac)
21 The Mars Volta - Octahedron (Mercury)
22 Pelican - What We All Come To Need (Southern Lord)
23 MadLove - White With Foam (Ipecac)
24 Shrinebuilder - S/T (Neurot)
25 Portal - Swarth (Profound Lore)
26 Them Crooked Vultures - S/T (Sony)
27 Bushman's Revenge - You Lost Me At Hello (Rune Grammofon)
28 Mountains - Choral (Thrill Jockey)
29 Minsk - With Echoes In The Movement Of Stone (Relapse)
30 Keelhaul - Triumphant Return To Obscurity (Hydra Head)

Uncut Albums Of The Year
1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light Years
3. The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
4. Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
5. Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
6. The XX – The XX
7. Wilco – Wilco (The Album)
8. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
10. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
11. Bill Callaham – Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
12. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
13. White Denim – Fits
14. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
15. Bassekou Kouyate And Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula
16. Florance And The Machine – Lungs
17. Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
18. Graham Coxon – The Spinning Top
19. Sonic Youth – The Eternal
20. The Horrors – Primary Colours
21. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Uncut Deliberate Error Charlie Brown Hahhaha)
22. Alela Diane – To Be Still
23. Manic Street Preachers – Journal For Plague Lovers
24. Micachu And The Shapes – Jewellery
25. Sunn 0))) – Monoliths And Dimensions
26. The Unthanks – Here’s The Tender Coming
27. Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
28. Madness – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate
29. Pj Harvey & John Parish – A Woman A Man Walked By
30. Jim O’ Rourke – The Visitor
31. The Dead Weather – Horehound
32. Iggy Pop – Preliminaries
33. The Duke And The King – Nothing Gold Can Stay
34. Trembling Bells – Carberth
35. Tinariwen – Imidiwan: Companions
36. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
37. Dinosaur Jr – Farm
38. Arctic Monkeys – Humbug
39. Cornershop – Judy Sucks On A Lemon For Breakfast
40. The Felice Brothers – Yonder Is The Clock
41. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks Live At The Hollywood Bowl
42. Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter
43. Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream
44. Reigning Sound – Love And Curses
45. Richmond Fontaine – We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River
46. Broadcast & The Focus Group - …Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age
47. Alasdair Roberts – Spoils
48. Raphael Saadiq – The Way I See It
49. Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
50. Kurt Vile – Childish Prodigy

Decibel Albums Of The Year

1. Baroness-The Blue Record
2. Converge-Axe To Fall
3. Coalesce- Ox
4. Napalm Death-Time Waits No Slave
5. Cobalt-Gin
6. Kylesa-Static Tensions
7. Slayer-World Painted Blood
8. Tombs-Winter Hours
9. Marduk-Wormwood
10. Isis-Wavering Radiant
11. Immortal-All Shall Fall
12. Agoraphobic Nosebleed-Agorapocalypse
13. Obscura-Cosmogenesis
14. Magrudergrind-S/T
15. Nile-Those Whom The Gods Detest
16. YOB- The Great Cessation
17. Mastodon-Crack The Skye
18. Paradise Lost-Fath Divides Us,Death Unites Us
19. The Atlas Moth-A Glorified Piece Of Blue Sky
20. Asphyx-Death...The Brutal Way
21. Altar Of Plauges-White Tomb
22. Mournful Congregation-The June Frost
23. Funeral Mist-Maranatha
24. The Gates Of Slumber-Hymns Of Blood And Thunder
25. Burnt By The Sun-Heart Of Darkness
26. City Of Ships-Look What God Did To Us
27. Goatwhore-Carving Out The Eyes Of God
28. Gaza-He Is Never Coming Back
29. Katatonia-Night Is The New Day
30. Keelhaul-Keelhaul's Triumphannt Return To Obscurity
31. The Red Chord-Fed Through The Teeth Machine
32. Brutal Truth-Evolution Through Revolution
33. Krallice-Dimensional Bleedthrough
34. Culted-Below The Thunders Of The Upper Deep
35. Goes Cube-Another Day Has Passed
36. Suffocation-Blood Oath
37. Javelina-Beasts Among Sheep
38. Municipal Waste-Massive Aggressor
39. Millions-Gather Scatter
40. Funebrarum-The Sleep Of Morbid Dreams

i've heard three out of a hundred and twenty. beat that, ilm!

i'd really like to be friends with whoever runs rock-a-rolla magazine

i bet when i went to the ATP that mike patton/melvins curated, they were standing next to me the whole time.

And while they stood next to you they compiled the list.

Actually i know one ilxor who takes photos/writes for them so maybe you stood next to him.

is the writing in that mag any good? their coverage cuts right to the center of my being

It does get slagged off by people on internet message boards about the writing, but I don't think it's that bad. I like the magazine though, it covers lots of stuff no other magazine does. I just renewed my subscription. Q might have good writing but it doesn't cover anything I like.

I think aQ sells Rock-A-Rolla in the US. It's a bi-monthly mag.

http://rock-a-rolla.com/

Awesome, thanks. Surprised at lack of 3 Inches of Blood and Hacride on Decibel list. I just heard the Minsk album. The Zoroaster is nearly as good on early listens.

Here is a list of what's been covered in all the issues
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock-A-Rolla
xpost

Only heard seven of those listed. Though it's nice to see that Alasdair Roberts record show up -- definitely in my top 10 for 09.

Hard rock albums of the year?

Is this list only for print mags or can we discuss the (Onion) AV Club list here too?

Post away

Remind me never to buy an "Uncut" issue. God, that list.

I don't understand lists like that - "Oh shit we're almost done and it's been nothing but indie bands. OK, let's throw in, I don't know? Jay-Z at 49, he's good, right?"

to please ilxors

I don't understand Raphael Saadiq on that list either, since as far as I can tell it was released September 2008 in the UK just like everywhere else.

I've heard of thirty-three of these artists, and heard precisely nil of their records. ILM you say? At least looking at the lists means I've now heard of Kurt Vile.

Noted indie bands Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Van Morrison.

so where's this av club list you were gonna post whitey on the moon?

"I've heard of thirty-three of these artists, and heard precisely nil of their records. ILM you say?"

you win!

I've heard 35

The Zu album is terrific. I hope LJ has heard it, if not, it will blow him away.

I think he has although I forget his verdict as this was back in Jaunary iirc

(even longer ago than January)

Good choice for the Rock-A-Rolla winner. It's a monster album.

AV Club ran a best of the decade albums list recently but I'm pretty sure they haven't run a best of '09 list yet.

xp I like a lot of the albums in there and it's cool that people have picked up on stuff that I thought was completely ignored, like the Gnaw album has been a total 'is it just me' since the spring now

I can never properly articulate what I find sort of... skeezy about Rock-a-Rolla as a mag but I think it's something like, why do their limits of what they cover stop where they do? In theory you can say this about almost every music publication and even in practice they're far from alone but theirs is the niche I understand least

The writing has got a lot better though for def

the verdict was that it was very good fwiw

Zu is def gonna make my top 10.

it will probably make my top 5 but then i haven't actually heard an awful lot of records

I can never properly articulate what I find sort of... skeezy about Rock-a-Rolla as a mag but I think it's something like, why do their limits of what they cover stop where they do? In theory you can say this about almost every music publication and even in practice they're far from alone but theirs is the niche I understand least

Rock-a-Rolla seems to cover some pretty unconnected subgenres and yet doesn't seem at all interested in sketching out the territory between them or having any consistent sensibility as to how it treats them. Like, whenever I've bought it most of the reviews have been metal of some kind or other which hasn't really appealed to me, but the featured articles will be about how THIS harsh noise dude furrows his brow hard so he's cool, and THIS glacial ambient drone dude is OK with us, and so is THIS weirdo pronkoid math-skronk band, but THESE broadly similar acts are not within our remit, and any middle ground between them is, like, a sellout. Kind of frustrating to someone like me, who likes the outliers who get on the cover more than the bulk of the stuff reviewed.

Anyway I am pleased to see Part Chimp, Zu and Pissed Jeans, so who cares, I guess.

I am really missing Plan B magazine because I feel like there is probably music out there I would love but I haven't heard about it and I don't know how to hear about it. Obviously ILX helps with some stuff, but it's hard to get any overarching feel for what's out there when you pretty much have to have heard of a band to bother clicking on their thread.

I am really missing Plan B magazine because I feel like there is probably music out there I would love but I haven't heard about it and I don't know how to hear about it. Obviously ILX helps with some stuff, but it's hard to get any overarching feel for what's out there when you pretty much have to have heard of a band to bother clicking on their thread.

Don't worry yer pretty lil' head, that's what these year-end lists are for. I have found the most interesting ones to be from The Wire, Quietus, Silent Ballet, Brainwashed and Fact Magazine. And if those aren't enough, there should also be some interesting entries in Drowned In Sound, Muzzle of Bees, Cokemachineglow, and of course Pitchfork.

I guess you're right. I always find year-end lists a bit overwhelming, is all. Too much at once. I could certainly stand to check some or all of those publications more often if I wanted to know what was going on, of course.

Maybe I mean "I miss reading about bands who might still play a 150-capacity pub venue for a fiver in my uncool UK hometown", and suspect that year-end lists are not where those acts hang out.

I used to look forward to the MM/Kerrang/NME/RAW albums of the year lists every year and I'd usually save up xmas money n stuff and buy 5 or so of the top albums i liked the look of that i didnt have.
I wonder if kids still do that or if they just d/l the albums on the list.

Yeah, I wish The Wire would hurry up.

Or wait for the spotify playlist of the highlight tracks.

Is what the kids might do now, I mean.

Rock-a-Rolla seems to cover some pretty unconnected subgenres and yet doesn't seem at all interested in sketching out the territory between them or having any consistent sensibility as to how it treats them.

that's because there isn't really a central 'IT' to sketch out these connections or possess a consistent sensibility... and tbh I'm not sure why such a thing would be desirable from a magazine, which is after all a compendium of individual perspectives. plan B's strength was exactly its collective spirit and lack of a definable remit.

I think the thing is that RaR's area of interest seems at once narrow and nebulous - essentially, it's that fuzzy-bordered and fairly vast hinterland between the wire and terrorizer.

anyway, have to say that I'm pretty amazed and delighted to see richard youngs at no.3 in the RaR list.

I didn't even vote for that one - Ultrahits was on my list, maybe my vote got transferred?

from the looks of the write-up, it's a joint result for ultrahits and stellar stream.

Stellar Stream may well be great, I just haven't had anything like long enough with it yet. It'll be next year at least before I can really make a judgement on it.

rateyourshit delivers

#1 album: mpp
#1 ep: fall be kind
#1 single: brothersport
#2 single: my girls

lololol

Yeah, I wish The Wire would hurry up.

― and Susan Gucci as Erica Mane (Whiney G. Weingarten),

I hope someone else types it up this year. My fingers are still sore after typing out the rockarolla.
I'm looking forward to the Terrorizer end of year list, should be some good stuff in that.

Mojo Magazine

via: Swear I'm not Paul: List: Mojo Magazine's Top 50 Albums of the Year

50. Max Richter - Waltz With Bashir OST
49. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II
48. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid
47. Bruce Springsteen - Working On a Dream
46. The Black Crowes - Before the Frost...

45. Cate Le Bon - Me Oh My
44. Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics - Inspiration Informaton
43. Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones
42. Doug Paisley - Doug Paisley
41. Mos Def - The Ecstatic

40. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light
39. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band - Between My Head and the Sky
38. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
37. BLK JKS - After Robots
36. White Denim - Fits

35. Portico Quartet - Isla
34. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
33. Leonard Cohen - Live in London
32. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
31. Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens - What Have You Done, My Brother?

30. Staff Benda Bilili - Tres Tres Fort
29. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
28. Vetiver - Tight Knit
27. Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
26. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

25. Alasdair Roberts - Spoils
24. Vieux Farka Toure - Fondo
23. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
22. The XX - XX
21. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns

20. Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
19. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Diamonds
18. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
17. The Phantom Band - Checkmate Savage
16. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca

15. Kasabian - The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum
14. Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement
13. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
12. The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
11. The Cribs - Ignore the Ignorant

10. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
09. Madness - The Liberty of Nolton Folgate
08. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
07. Florence & the Machine - Lungs
06. Bob Dylan - Together Through Time

05. Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions
04. The Horrors - Primary Colours
03. Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
02. Bill Calahan - Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
01. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Q: for the stats fans: How many albums are both in the Mojo and Uncut lists?

Terrorizer list is good imo, haven't heard quite a bit of it but nothing that made me go 'waht'

(no I'm not posting it)

in the meantime...

Top 1000 metal albums of 2009 on rateyourmusic.com - custom chart
http://bit.ly/hhfrz

only heard one of these albums listed so far.

Will be doing the ilx metal albums of 2009 this year with Glenn again. Hopefully more people will vote this year. Will open up a nominations thread soon. (maybe even today if people want me to)

I'm surprised I didn't know Cornershop put out an album this year (not that I like them, but I would think I would have heard about it and registered the fact)

chris martin

bloke from keane
bloke from snow patrol

oops wrong thread

djmartian get your hugeassed metal nominations list ready and i'll open the metal poll nominations thread with your list

i will compile a selective list at the weekend, you can start it before

What one's have I got up my sleeve here.

Do we want to see Q's again?

The Fly magazine.

1/ Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
2/ The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
3/ Florence + The Machine - Lungs
4/ YYYs - It's Blitz!
5/ The Horrors - Primary Colours
6/ Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose
7/ The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant
8/ The Temper Trap - Conditions
9/ ...Trail Of Dead - The Century Of Self
10/ Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another
11/ White Lies - To Lose My Life
12/ The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead
13/ Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
14/ The XX - XX
15/ Japandroids - Post-Nothing
16/ Joy Formidable - A Balloon Called Moaning
17/ Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
18/ The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms
19/ Muse - The Resistance
20/ Dananananaykroyd - Hey Everyone!
21/ Swimming - The Fire-Flow Trade
22/ Manics - Journal For Plague Lovers
23/ Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
24/ Empire Of The Sun - Walking On A Dream
25/ Passion Pit - Manners
26/ Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
27/ Animal Collective - MPP
28/ The Invisible - s/t
29/ Howling Bells - Radio Wars
30/ Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - s/t
31/ The Virgins - The Virgins
32/ Kasabian - West Ryder etc
33/ Dizzee Rascal - Tongue 'N Cheek
34/ Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
35/ Blue Roses - Blue Roses
36/ Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
37/ Noah & The Whale - First Day Of Spring
38/ Julian Plenti - ...is Skyscraper
39/ Jamie T - Kings & Queens
40/ Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
41/ The Boxer Rebellion - Union
42/ PJ Harver & John Parrish - A Woman, A Man Walked By
43/ Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
44/ Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
45/ La Roux - La Roux
46/ HEALTH - Get Color
47/ Speech Debelle - Speech Therapy
48/ Golden Silvers - True Romance
49/ Girls - Album
50/ Chairlift - Does It Inspire You

Rough Trades EOY list

1 - XX, The - XX
2 - Low Anthem, The - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
3 - Horrors, The - Primary Colours
4 - Fever Ray - Fever Ray
5 - Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, The - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
6 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
7 - Leisure Society, The - The Sleeper
8 - Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
9 - Forest Fire - Survival
10 - Very Best, The - Warm Heart Of Africa
11 - Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
12 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
13 - Atlas Sound - Logos
14 - Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
15 - Local Natives - Gorilla Manor
16 - White Denim - Fits
17 - Jónsi & Alex - Riceboy Sleeps
18 - Terry Lynn - Kingstonlogic 2.0
19 - Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
20 - Mountain Goats, The - The Life Of The World To Come
21 - Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
22 - Portico Quartet - Isla
23 - Major Lazer - Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do
24 - Memory Tapes - Seek Magic
25 - Florence + The Machine - Lungs
26 - Girls - Album
27 - Alela Diane - To Be Still
28 - Andrew Bird - Noble Beast
29 - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains
30 - Taken By Trees - East Of Eden
31 - Mos Def - The Ecstatic
32 - Shitty Limits, The - Beware The Limits
33 - Dead Man's Bones - Dead Man's Bones
34 - Fanfarlo - Reservoir
35 - Lindstrøm & Christabelle - Real Life Is Not Cool
36 - Kid Congo And The Pink Monkey Birds - Dracula Boots
37 - Big Pink, The - A Brief History Of Love
38 - Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
39 - A Place To Bury Strangers - Exploding Head
40 - Martyn - Great Lenghts
41 - Young Republic, The - Balletesque
42 - Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
43 - Cate Le bon - Me Oh My
44 - Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
45 - Mummers, The - Tale To Tell
46 - Smith Westerns, The - The Smith Westerns
47 - Ganglians - Monster Head Room
48 - Micachu And The Shapes - Jewellery
49 - Irrepressibles, The - From the circus to the sea
50 - Telepathe - Dance Mother
51 - Decemberists, The - The Hazards Of Love
52 - Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
53 - Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs
54 - Vivian Girls, The - Everything Goes Wrong
55 - Patrick Watson - Wooden Arms
56 - She Keeps Bees - Nests
57 - Soulsavers - Broken
58 - Acorn, The - Glory Hope Mountain
59 - Japandroids - Post-Nothing
60 - Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Q: for the stats fans: How many albums are both in the Mojo and Uncut lists?

25 albums, or 50%.

A consensus emerges - there are seven albums which appear on the Uncut, Mojo, Fly and Rough Trade lists:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
The Horrors - Primary Colours
The XX - The XX
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!

Correction - eight albums:

Florence & the Machine - Lungs

Correction - NINE albums:

Wild Beasts - Two Dancers

(I'm not very good at this.)

at this rate 'The Future Will Come' will be my first 'favourite album of year to not get on ANY mag eoy list'

From Norway

Nettavisen (a Norwegian online news portal)

http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=3172289350&frmid=10&msgid=1017909&cmd=show

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
2. Doves - Kingdom of Rust
3. Mastodon - Crack the Skye
4. Rihanna - Rated R
5. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
6. Narum - Samma hen du fær
7. Nirvana - Live at Reading
8. Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand
9. La Roux - La Roux
10. El Caco - Heat
11. Leonard Cohen - Live in London
12. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
13. Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
14. Tommy Tee - Studio Time
15. Dinosaur Jr - Farm
16. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
17. 50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct
18. Wilco - Wilco (The Album)
19. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
20. Jonas Fjeld & Chatham County Line - Brother of Song
21. Jaa9 & OnklP - Sellout!
22. Florence and the Machines - Lungs
23. Drake - So Far So Gone
24. Eminem - Relapse
25. Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown

Planet Sound (UK teletext service)

so far
http://bit.ly/51PHeE

11) Judy Sucks A Lemon For Breakfast Cornershop
12) It's Blitz Yeah Yeah Yeahs
13) Hazards Of Love The Decemberists
14) Epcot Starfields Windmill
15) We Ain't Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain Liam Frost
16) Two Dancers Wild Beasts
17) Junior Royksopp
18) My Maudlin Career Camera Obscura
19) Empire Of The Sun Empire Of The Sun 20) Until The Earth Begins To Part Broken Records

21) Monsters Of Folk Monsters Of Folk
22) Forget The Night Ahead The Twilight Sad
23) Hundreds Of Lions Erin McKeown
24) Origin Orphan The Hidden Cameras
25) Everything Is New Jack Penate

26) New Worlds Charlotte Hatherley
27) The Liberty Of Norton Folgate Madness
28) Bitte Orca Dirty Projectors
29) Kingdom Of Rust Doves
30) Turning The Mind Maps

31) Tarot Sport F*** Buttons
32) Don't Stop Annie
33) Beginning Middle End The B Of The Bang
34) Fantasies Metric
35) Yeah So Slow Club
36) Travels With Myself And Another Future Of The Left
37) Room 7½ Dot Allison
38) Wilco (The Album) Wilco
39) To The City From The Sea Beat The Radar
40) Gorilla Manor Local Natives

41) Truelove's Gutter Richard Hawley
42) Lonely Road Liam McKahey And The Bodies
43) Hands Little Boots
44) The Real Feel Spiral Stairs
45) The Last Laugh Joker's Daughter

46) Which Bitch? The View
47) Once Kid Harpoon
48) The Duckworth Lewis Method The Duckworth Lewis Method
49) The New Pop Sound Of DON'T MOVE!
50) I'm OK Gable

Planet Sound still exists?! huh

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_Sound
It was announced on the 17th of July 2009 that Planet Sound is to end in January 2010

wow. lots of stuff on the planet sound list I've never even heard of...

NOMINATIONS THREAD for ILX METAL ALBUMS Of 2009 (Closes December 20)

various lists from Cargo Records Distribution UK

Cargo Staff Picks 2009
http://cargorecords.blogspot.com/2009/11/cargo-staff-picks-2009.html

updated today:

rateyourmusic.com - top 1000 albums of 2009
http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/2009

still at number 1: Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

i bet it updates every day

i bet animal collective stays #1 with every update

more like rate your shitty prog-metal .com

more like rate your shitty prog-metal .com

http://rateyourmusic.com/customchart - Use that and remove over-represented genres!

it will just end up looking like an ilx list then!

on spotify, checking out some of the Rock-a-Rolla list I hadn't heard...

was pretty floored by the sheer hyperactive weirdness and crinkly fuzziness of the omar album, until I realised that a spotify glitch meant it was playing at about three times the correct speed. listening at the 'proper' speed now. I wish I could accelerate it again.

email and ask them ;)

wtf at that Lindstrom being on the rough trade list - it's not due for release until 2010 right?

everyone seems to be underrating the really actually rather good trail of dead album. like, to the extent where they're nominating muse instead.

Silly Norwegians, it's obvious that the only African-Americans who put out worthy albums this year are rappers whose best work came in the 90s!

at least they acknowledge the fact that black people make music at all

must every thread turn into this?

Afraid so

No list will ever satisfy everyone, it's impossible.
Mind you if it did, threads would be lucky if they got 3 posts.

Bill Callaham

it's sad that super furry animals end up number 2 on an uncut list and that sems about right as they have turned into dad rock.

Given that Norway is pretty ethnically homogeneous and has kept alive its folk traditions, maybe the music that ended up on that list resonates more with their cultural background than most African-American music. I wonder how much indie rock would turn up on EOY lists out of Africa?

Before we start getting into Scandanavian race politics, the Reverend's comment was a JOKE, ie the Norwegian poll features Rihanna, Jay-Z, Drake and 50 Cent whereas the others throw the occasional bone to Mos Def or Raekwon.

Oops. Sorry.

it's sad that super furry animals end up number 2 on an uncut list

Leaving aside the hilarious narcissism of small diffs going on here, people who get on this sort of crybaby tip about music they 'approve' of being lauded by media they 'disapprove' of really are disgusting not to mention boring savages

Harsh but fair.

i guess i missed the point of your post, is this entire exercise not one of subjectivity and opinion spouting it is actually more tiresome when people come in and claim to be above the fray and not prone to such pettiness. so you like the newest super furry animals and don't like people who would diminish it? is that what you are saying?

x-post

Um, no, it has its moments, I am just puzzled as to what world you live in where the idea of the band Super Furry Animals and the magazine Uncut interacting in this way is upsetting or unexpected

I am just puzzled as to what world you live in

http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/NewAnswersControllerServlet?boardid=41

Thank you, Dorian.

Post decade lists here: Best of Decade (2000s) Album Lists

Gorilla Vs. Bear

25 pisces | a lovely sight
24 ganglians | monster head room
23 the mantles | the mantles
22 st. vincent | actor
21 cass mccombs | catacombs
20 atlas sound | logos
19 washed out | high times
18 night control | death control
17 phoenix | wolfgang amadeus phoenix
16 nirvana | live at reading
15 the mayfair set | young one
14 mountain man | mountain man
13 nite jewel | good evening
12 memory tapes | seek magic
11 neon indian | psychic chasms
10 fever ray | fever ray
09 jj | no. 2
08 girls | album
07 smith westerns | smith westerns
06 the sandwitches | how to make ambient sadcake
05 the xx | xx
04 animal collective | merriweather post pavilion
03 grizzly bear | veckatimest
02 white denim | fits
01 raekwon | only built 4 cuban linx pt. II

commenced

musicOMH blog: musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2009
http://blog.musicomh.com/musicomh/2009/11/musicomhs-top-50-albums-of-2009.html

link for

gorillavsbear.net: gorilla vs. bear's albums of 2009
http://gorillavsbear.blogspot.com/2009/12/gorilla-vs-bears-albums-of-2009.html

part 1

The Quietus Reductive & Subjective Albums Of The Year List: 40 To 21
http://thequietus.com/articles/03325-the-quietus-reductive-subjective-albums-of-the-year-list-40-20

40. Kurt Vile - Childish Prodigy
39. Atlas Sound - Logos
38. Crystal Stilts - Alight of Night
37. Crippled Black Phoenix 200 Tons Of Bad Luck
36. Broadcast and the Focus Group Broadcast And The Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age
35. Various Productions feat. Gerry Mitchell The Invisible Lodger Fire

34. Admiral Angry Buster
33. Telepathe - Dance Mother
32. Pet Shop Boys - Yes
31. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
30. Part Chimp Thriller
29. Health Get Color

28. Micachu and the Shapes Jewellery
27. Engineers Three Fact Fader
26. Rammstein - Liebe Is Fur Alle Da
25. Fuck Buttons Tarot Sport
24. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavillion
23. Jim O’Rourke Visitor
22. King Cannibal Let The Night Roar
21. Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band Between My Head And The Sky

Is the Cornershop cd gonna get released in the US?

Art Rocker - Top 100
http://www.artrocker.com/node/19312

http://afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/921/Afropop%20Worldwides%202009%20Stocking%20Stuffers%20 Afropop.org - 35 stocking stuffers

Of the 50-odd albums I have, I only truly love Franco, Springsteen, K'NAAN, Mos Def, maybe the best of Girls, Mastodon, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, The Very Best, The xx, and Kurt Vile (though I prefer God Is Saying This To You...). Guess I better pick up the Bill Callahan.

Surprised by this claque's total shutout of P.O.S. and Art Brut.

I still like Q, but they are getting a bit too populist when they are including Mika in their year-end list maybe. Plus I doubt a lot of Mika fans read Q anyways.

K'Naan's a shutout so far, too, right? (At least on lists I've looked at, which really surprised me. Also sad that nobody seems to be listing the Death record, on Drag City. Are they disqualifying it just 'cause it's old music? Got written about everywhere when it came out, so I figured people would ignore how long ago the songs were recorded.)

I'm voting for K'Naan! Probably #1. And yeah, it's weird that he's not everywhere--he'd totally fit into the Arrested Development/Coup/first-Kanye success arena.

xp the death album is fantastic, but as a reissue it won't be eligible for most magazines' EOY lists.

it's not exactly a "reissue." it was never really issued, was it? anyway, i assume it's eligible for pazz & jop.

(i'm definitely voting for it.)

I was under the impression that it did come out way back when, albeit in small numbers.

actually, you're right, seems it never go a proper release.

I stand corrected, and now regret not voting for it,

carry on.

You can vote for reissues in P&J--it's just 10 albums of whatever sort.

Yeah, everything is eligible for P&J -- EPs, reissues, never before issued EPs of old stuff, albums that came out in 2008, you name it. If I was honest, I'd vote for almost all reissues this year. Not going to, but I'll probably include Death regardless (not quite my favorite album of old stuff that came out this year, but they need my vote since they might actually have a shot of placing in the poll.)

I've cooled slightly on the K'naan, don't think it'll hit my top ten anymore, but its still a great album.

I like and disqualified the Death album too.

was quite shocked to not see the U2 album in the Mojo list.

I wonder is this the first U2 album (for quite a while ..) to be absent from virtually every list of the year ?

(i suspect its made it onto the Q list given that they are on the EOY cover .. )

The Death CD is two tracks that were on a 7" and some others that were never released until this year, fyi

CLASH

40. Dizzee Rascal - Tongue'n'Cheek
39. Crocodiles - Summer Of Hate
38. Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
37. Jamie T - Kings & Queens
36. Maccabees - Wall Of Arms
35. Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions - Through The Devil Softly
34. Danananaykroyd - Hey Everyone!
33. The Dead Weather - Horehound
32. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle
31. Gossip - Music For Men
30. 2562 - Unbalance
29. Flaming Lips - Embryonic
28. Devendra Banhart - What Will Be
27. Beyond The Wizards Sleeve - Re-Animations Vol 1
26. Woodpigeon - Treasury Liberty Canada
25. Paul White - The Strange Dreams Of Paul White
24. Passion Pit - Manners
23. DM Stith - Heavy Ghost
22. Anathallo - Canopy Glow
21. Moderat - Moderat
20. Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another
19. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
18. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
17. Nathan Fake - Hard Islands
16. Lusine - A Certain Distance
15. Luke Vibert - We Hear You
14. Monsters Of Folk - Monsters Of Folk
13. Florence & The Machine - Lungs
12. Yacht - See Mystery Lights
11. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
10. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
9. Andrew Weatherall - A Pox On The Pioneers
8. Noah & The Whale - The First Days Of Spring
7. The Horrors - Primary Colours
6. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
5. Health - Get Color
4. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
2. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
1. Animal Collective - MPP

i like the moderat album a lot!

when did "get color" get released?

this week's NME front cover "50 Best Albums of 2009"
http://bit.ly/5TL5X9

when did "get color" get released?

Mid-2009.

50 Best Albums of 2009 | NME.COM
http://www.nme.com/list/50-best-albums-of-2009/159978

Album of the Year: The Horrors - Primary Colours

50 Best Tracks of 2009 | NME.COM
http://www.nme.com/list/50-best-tracks-of-2009/159979

Track of the Year: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero

top 10

1. The Horrors - Primary Colours
2. The XX - The xx
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
4. Wild Beast - Two Dancers
5. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
6. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimist
7. The Big Pink - A Brief History of Love
8. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport
9. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
10. Jamie T - Kings and Queens

rofl the horrors
rofl the xx. hipster bullshit

i do like the idea of the ilx hipsters loving the nme no 2 album of the year though.

This one is just whacky!
http://thequietus.com/articles/03326-the-quietus-reductive-subjective-albums-of-the-year-20-1?page=1

The Quietus Album of the Year: 1. Sunn O))) - Monoliths And Dimensions

talk about hipster bullshit...

Sunn Zzzz makes me long for quietus...

i do like the idea of the ilx hipsters loving the nme no 2 album of the year though.

This probably happens like once every other year? I really don't think you understand other people's taste at all...

The full NME top 50 really looks like they were scraping the barrel for relevant acts to include though.

is their top 50 a bit pitchfork-y? Usually NME will have some uk bands in there that noone else will, but that top 10 is definite pitchfork style.

is there an ilxor decade-end / year-end poll happening this year already?

i do like the idea of the ilx hipsters loving the nme no 2 album top ten - okay top nine - albums of the year though.

I like #1 and #9 btw. The xx are crap imo tbh fwiw.

talk about hipster bullshit...

Do I know you? It just amuses me to be called a hipster when I'm 38, an overweight metaller, no famous/hip friends and have an annual clothes budget of 40 quid. That list (as it says quite clearly) is just a reflection of what me and Luke listen to. We both really rate the Sunn album. We've both been writing about Sunn for about seven years each now and it's finally really good to see them get the coverage they deserve.

Just so I understand what The Rules are for future reference - is it alright for me to write about metal for the metal press but the second I do it for a none-genre specific title, I become a hipster? Just so I know like. I'm obviously a lot less sophisticated about these things than some on here.

There seems to be a lot of what psychologists would refer to as self-recognition on this thread.

This probably happens like once every other year

Yeah I was gonna say, the idea that the two hiveminds at play here are polar opposites is really not borne out by, well, anything

Any top 50 with the Pissed Jeans album in is better than one without it in </opinions4u>

NME top 50 albums

50 Bombay Bicycle Club - I Had the Blues But I Shook Them Loose
49 Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - Middle Cyclone
48 Atlas Sound - Logos
47 Telepathe - Dance Mother
46 Gallows - Grey Britain
45 Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
44 Oneida - Rated O
43 Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
42 Empire Of The Sun - Walking On a Dream
41 Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions
40 Crystal Stilts - Alight Of Night
39 Japandroids - Post Nothing
38 Pissed Jeans - King of Jeans
37 Passion Pit - Manners
36 The Drums - Summertime!
35 Sonic Youth - The Eternal
34 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
33 Jay-Z - The Blueprint III
32 Noah And The Whale - The First Days Of Spring
31 Micachu & The Shapes - Jewellry
30 The Cribs - Ignore The Ignorant
29 Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
28 Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career
27 PJ Harvey And John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By
26 Florence And The Machine - Lungs
25 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
24 Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
23 Doves - Kingdom Of Rust
22 Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
21 Health - Get Color
20 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
19 The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms
18 Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another
17 Girls - Album
16 Mumford And Sons - Sigh No More
15 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
14 Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
13 La Roux - La Roux
12 Arctic Monkeys - Humbug
11 Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
10 Jamie T – Kings and Queens
09 Fever Ray – Fever Ray
08 Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport
07 The Big Pink – A Brief History of Love
06 Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
05 Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
04 Wild Beasts – Two Dancers
03 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz
02 – The XX – The XX
01 – The Horrors – Primary Colours

NME top 10 Songs

50 The Twilight Sad - I Became A Prostitute
49 The Cribs - Cheat On Me
48 Florence And The Machine - Drumming Song
47 The Maccabees - No Kind Words
46 Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
45 Friendly Fires - Skeleton Boy
43 Biffy Clyro - The Captain
42 Manic Street Preachers - Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
41 La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy
40 Frightened Rabbit - Swim Until You Can't See Land
39 Fuck Buttons - Surf Solar
38 Girls - Hellhole Ratrace
37 Bon Iver - Blood Bank
36 Washed Out - Feel It All Around
35 Little Boots - New In Town
34 Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool
33 Phoenix - Lisztomania
32 Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For the Others
31 Future Of The Left - Arming Eritrea
30 Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart
29 Shakira - She Wolf
28 The XX - Islands
27 Chew Lips - Solo
26 Wild Beasts - Hooting And Howling
25 Biffy Clyro - That Golden Rule
24 La Roux - Bulletproof
23 Dirty Projectors - Stillness Is The Move
22 The Big Pink - Velvet
21 Lady Gaga - Poker Face
20 Lily Allen - The Fear
19 La Roux - In For The Kill (Skream remix)
18 Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo
17 Memory Tapes - Bicycle
16 Bat For Lashes - Daniel
15 Arctic Monkeys - Crying Lightning
14 Jamie T - Sticks & Stones
13 Julian Casablancas - 11th Dimension
12 Kasabian - Fire
11 Arctic Monkeys - Cornerstone
10 – Health – Die Slow
09 – Lady Gaga – Paparazzi
08 – La Roux – In For The Kill
07 – The Drums – Let’s Go Surfing
06 – Jay-Z – Empire State Of Mind
05 – Animal Collective – My Girls
04 – Dizzee Rascal – Bonkers
03 – The Big Pink – Dominos
02 – The Horrors – Sea Within a Sea
01 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero

Lots of La Roux, guess that's better than 60% of the top 5 being MGMT though.

thanks for typing it all out

my apologies, Doran. i had no idea you were in sunn0)))

doran i dont think it was a dig at you btw. Was either a dig at me for slagging the xx off or was just a dig at Sunn o)))
xp

ok that was clearly a dig

i have 3 of the nme list, Neko,Oneida and the manics. Still to get the SY album.

xpost I lolled tbh

my apologies, Doran. i had no idea you were in sunn0)))

Ha ha. I wish. I'm not hip. It's never going to happen. Although I do admit to attending gigs occasionally where people half my age in trucker caps and moustaches do attend and make me uncomfotable with their demonstrative dancing.

oh youre from london then?

18 Joy Orbison - Hyph Mngo

Wait WTF how did this get in there?

I'm from St Helens which kind of innoculates me from ever being cool.

Just ask Johnny Vegas, Jacqui Abbott from The Beautiful South or Bernie Clifton.

XP: To Matt DC. Well, I voted for it and so did two of the other people in my office who string for the NME . . .

how many of the bbc sound of 2010 are in it?

I have no business complaining about the results of the tracks given that I could have voted but didn't (being a luddite who listens to actual albums or singles)... but it's not too inspiring to cast your eye over, is it, given that it's almost entirely made up of songs off the top 50 albums?

nme album list fairly listenable

new ilm mantra:

I really don't think you understand other people's taste at all

Odd thing looking at the NME lists - have any of their album top 10, excepting the Horrors, made their cover in the past year? Possibly YYYs, but other than that...

I really don't think you understand other people's taste at all

fixed

Yeah, most of them. Jay Z was a joint cover with Ian Brown. La Roux was top of their future 50 (or one of those things).

maybe they're looking towards 2010 covers
xp

no famous/hip friends

there's still a few days of christmas post to go you know john.
kanye may yet surprise you.

Ha ha. Fuck that chump.

Despite the NME's recent "lol 1999, lol Travis, what were we thinking of, look how everything's snowballed since" editorial, judging by these lists they'll eventually be considering 2009 to be another fallow year.

There's a lot of Old Man Indie in there (The XX, Grizzly Bear, Wild Beasts, Animal Collective) that suggests that the NME and The Kids are miles apart at the moment. Probably further than at any time since the days when they put Shack and Godspeed You Black Emperor on the cover. Can't really see their target audience going wild for much of this stuff, if that audience even exists in reasonable numbers any more.

i was just attempting to point out the irony of someone derriding people that rate, say, the xx as "hipsters" and then turning around and raving about sunn0))) - but then again, it's entirely possible that i have misunderstood herman g neuname's comments?

Q: for the stats fans, how many albums on the NME 2009 list are also on:

A: Uncut 2009 list
B: Mojo 2009 list

Get to it, stats fans!

http://img.thisismoney.co.uk/i/pix/2008/02/AngusLoughran1_203x150.jpg

how can The XX be Old Man Indie when they're all teenagers themselves? i think you're under-estimating "the kids" Matt. or over-estimating them. not sure which anymore.

Karen my comments about the xx are a private running joke with a couple of ilxors (mostly done over on last.fm)

a bit confused at xx and wild beasts being 'old man indie' - not-quite-hip-anymore indie, yeah

i do wonder about the nme audience tho - the expansion of the too-informed-to-read-the-nme indie kid subculture presumably wears it out a little

the covers thing is a bit of a false lead i think - it's like they're trying to put people on the cover that will sell the magazine or something

It just amuses me to be called a hipster when I'm 38

We've both been writing about Sunn for about seven years each now

xxposts Other than maybe (maybe) Grizzly Bear, I wouldn't really call any of those bands "old man indie" - unless I misunderstand what you mean? I think it's good the NME have finally started to get out of their pub-rock hole slightly and start embracing slightly more leftfield (and also non-Brit) stuff than they have done for the last decade or so.

FYI, if you're posting on a rock-writer-centric message board about the XX, you're definitely a hipster to SOMEBODY.

Karen my comments about the xx are a private running joke with a couple of ilxors (mostly done over on last.fm)

whats the joke? The XX aren't really for hipsters so its funny to say that they are?

and start embracing (and also non-Brit) stuff than they have done for the last decade or so.

thats kinda what was thinking upthread when i asked if it had gone pitchfork-y

oh but hipsters do love them.

thought we'd established grizzly bear are dad rock not old man indie

BTW I am *really* loving the Quietus list, and there is a lot to check out. Aside from all the cool avant-garde stuff, who knew that British Sea Power had released another album, with THREE eleven-minute songs?

the NME of 2009 reminds me of Select magazine circa 2000, a mixed bag with no distinctive direction

select magazine - best albums of 2000
http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/select.html

1. Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
2. Primal Scream – Xtrmntr
3. Granddaddy – The Sophtware Slump
4. Godspeed You Black Emperor
5. Coldplay – Parachutes
6. Radiohead – Kid A
7. Lambchop – Nixon
8. Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP
9. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Madonna
10. Doves – Lost Souls
11. Queens Of The Stone Age – Rated R
12. Black Box Recorder – The Facts Of Life
13. Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
14. David Holmes – Bow Down To The Exit Sign
15. At The Drive In – Relationship Of Command
16. Kellies – Kaleidoscope
17. Bent – Programmed To Love
18. JJ72 – JJ72
19. Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
20. Shellac – 1000 Hurts
21. Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030
22. The Delgados – The Great Eastern
23. Add N To (X) – Add Insult To Injury
24. Chris Morris – Blue Jam
25. Fatboy Slim – Halfway Between The Gutter And The Stars
26. Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
27. Kathryn Williams – Little Black Numbers
28. Various – Sound Of The Pirates [Mixes By Zed Bias]
29. Belle And Sebastian – Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant
30. The RZA – Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai OST

ayo, Quietus, i like and respect and visit your site, but i don't know at which point you guys thought you were People magazine and thought it would be a good idea to wrestle maximum hit counts by making your year end list a one-entry-a-click listicle. No fuckin way I'm clickin through 40 entries to find out how high you ranked a Flaming Lips album, duders.

Yeah 'old man indie' was a bit of a lazy zing, that's a fair cop, but a lot of these acts aren't the sort of thing I'd have expected NME to vote so high in previous years. They're mostly a bit slow and quiet for one thing.

I suppose what I'm getting at is that the (pretty rigidly defined) target readership that they've been gunning for since the first Strokes album doesn't really exist any more, and the NME doesn't know how to fill that void. (xpost, lol, I agree with DJ Martian)

xposts to hermann

not quite pitchfork-y but a vast improvement on the Connor Mac-school of Libertines clones from before. At least NME readers have probably heard of Animal Collective (albeit 9 years too late but w/e).

oh god jj72, i had forgotten all about them
xxxp

I like about - at a push - 5 albums on that NME list. That must be the lowest ever for me. Plus I just cannot understand how Jamie T can be so popular.

thought we'd established grizzly bear are dad rock not old man indie

They are 'dad indie'

'drummer for gay dad indie'?

matt dc - right. i see this as positive. NME might be a bit aimless these days, but at least it's finally stopped ploughing that dead furrow.

They are 'dad indie' = Radcliffe / Maconie Radio 2 Evening Slot Approved

NME was buried by the rubbish of landfill indie and it's crawling out of the wreckage feeling lost, not knowing which way to turn, in comes a new editor in September who has played it very safe / establishment with the front cover selections.

It just amuses me to be called a hipster when I'm 38

We've both been writing about Sunn for about seven years each now

Sorry, I don't know what this means.

And, as for the click through thing. I earn about enough off the Quietus per month to pay my rent, so am not beyond doing the odd thing just for the clicks if it keeps my measly wages on the level.

I'll print the countdown here later when I've time to type it out.

Since conor mac was in charge NME seemed to want to be the magazine that first championed the biggest bands around before anyone else rather than championing the best(oasis/coldplay syndrome?). Will that change?

It's interesting to see Fuck Buttons so high on NME list. I actually liked the idea of the Horrors album, with the Krautrock and other fun influences. The execution just doesn't work for me. Wild Beasts are great. I kind of liked the second Arctic Monkeys album, but nothing on the new one grabbed me. Jamie T must be one of those had-to-be-there artists?

I can't help but feel a bit disappointed after years of railing against the NME for being blinkered/condescending/full of indentikit Libertines knockoffs they are now championing the same bands as 30-something dudes off the internet. Even The Horrors are more or less respectable now. It feels like the 00s died today.

Ah well, at least Kasabian are still bafflingly high, that's some small comfort.

I thought people generally enjoyed the horrors single but were disappointed that it hadn't carried through to the album.

i like the sound and the production on the horrors album but the songs, i don't actually remember the songs.

NME is lying in the gutter... wrong thread, sorry

NME and Uncut = 19
NME and Mojo = 18
NME and Q = 23
Uncut and Mojo = 25
Uncut and Q = 12
Mojo and Q = 22
NME, Mojo and Uncut = 14
Q, Mojo and Uncut = 19
NME, Q and Mojo = 15
NME, Uncut and Q = 15
All four = 13

The 13 are;

Animal Collective
Grizzly Bear
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Horrors, The
Wild Beasts
Florence + The Machine
Fever Ray
Dirty Projectors
Fuck Buttons
Manic Street Preachers
Arctic Monkeys
Richard Hawley
Sonic Youth

people were saying that in the 80s weren't they?
xp

Doran, I'm just saying in the grand scheme of things, writing about SunnO))) on an indie rock website is a hipstery thing to do. You gotta own that, homie!

I know it's not going out in Shutter Shades to see Kid Sister, but don't play innocent! :)

burt stanton out

So Doran's the wizard behind Quietus? Nice site! I meant whacky in a good way, in that I was amazed at how many albums in the top 20 I hadn't even heard of. I've got some more listening to do.

I'm from St Helens which kind of innoculates me from ever being cool.

Just ask Johnny Vegas, Jacqui Abbott from The Beautiful South or Bernie Clifton.

sorry doran, you can have the others but I'm claiming bernie clifton for chesterfield. he may be from st helens originally, but he's lived round the corner from my grandparents for pretty much as long as I've been alive. he's MINE.

sunn o))) are deserving winners of the quietus poll, btw. that album is stunning, far beyond what I would have expected from that band. (though I would argue all the really, really great stuff on it is eyvind kang's doing...)

The Horrors album is pretty good! I think, anyway. It has four or five solid-gold tracks (ok, four) (being Do You Remember, New Ice Age, I Only Think Of You and Sea Within A Sea) but that's enough for me to generally be quite pally with an album

and yeah, I really gots to get me some of those Quietus albums

Any EOY list that doesn't have Animal Fucking Collective at #1 deserves some credit I guess.

can't help but feel a bit disappointed after years of railing against the NME for being blinkered/condescending/full of indentikit Libertines knockoffs they are now championing the same bands as 30-something dudes off the internet. Even The Horrors are more or less respectable now. It feels like the 00s died today.

Ah well, at least Kasabian are still bafflingly high, that's some small comfort.

― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Tuesday, 8 December 2009 16:38 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

Well that's the thing - Sounds and Melody Maker might have died, but NME now has the much larger adversary of message boards, blogs, Pitchfork/Quietus etc to contend with. And there's only so much music in the world. So either they could have carried on convering landfill indie forever and ever and ever or just thought "can't beat'em, join em".

That said, I'm surprised they haven't recently done their usual thing and tried to create a scene from a sampling of one or two half-decent bands. They could have easily looked at their demographic, realised that indie-electrodribble is THE thing with the kids, and given up their entire weekly coverage to bands who sound exactly like Hadouken.

XP: Well I guess there's more than an element of that to it Mr Weingarten. Obviously I get annoyed because I'm just into what I'm into and if there's any cross over between me and Platform or VICE it's not deliberate and I don't benefit from it.

I guess sometimes dudes off the internet with a lot of pocket money and silly taste in hats have good taste in music as well.

(I'd debate that we're an indie rock website though. Our MO is to cover music for people who are slightly older than the readers of most music websites.)

And thanks for the kind words - I only broke cover and started whingeing then because all my serotonin has been depleted by ATP and the lack of daylight.

LJ try and give an ear to that Teeth of The Sea album, it might do thangs for you - I really like it

Oh no doubt, Doran. I'm just saying everyone's a hipster to SOMEBODY whether you're trying or not.

Our MO is to cover music for people who are slightly older than the readers of most music websites.)

That's a pretty great mission statement, tbh, and i'm glad someone's out there gunning for the old cranks.

To be fair, the first batch up to 21 are all on one page. I don't mind clicking for the top 20. The Complex Top 100, however, is out of control. I got bored clicking through the top 100, then got distracted by the Top 100 Girls.

Oops, real link. Beware, it's mind-numbingly addictive, kind of like that Hot Or Not site 10 yrs ago.

LJ try and give an ear to that Teeth of The Sea album, it might do thangs for you - I really like it

― Dark, promiscuous five-year-old (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 8 December 2009 16:56 (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

ooh look it is on spotify what have i become

maybe a factor reflecting a more mixed bag NME top 50 is the existence of NME Radio

NME Radio
http://www.nme.com/radio/playlist

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NME_Radio

A Playlist - badly drawn boy.
in 2009???

Also The Bravery.

ha that proves my opinion earlier in this thread

re:

the NME of 2009 reminds me of Select magazine circa 2000, a mixed bag with no distinctive direction

select magazine - best albums of 2000
http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/select.html

1. Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of Bewilderbeast

Am really liking this, DJ Mencap!

2009 consensus

via
http://www.albumvote.co.uk/albums/best/2009.aspx

1 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz! 365
2 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion 331
3 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 319
4 The Horrors - Primary Colours 308
5 Wild Beasts - Two Dancers 270
6 Florence and the Machine - Lungs 244
7 Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers 235
8 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca 218
9 The XX – The XX 218
10 Fever Ray - Fever Ray 199
11 Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport 192
12 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix 184
13 Arctic Monkeys - Humbug 176
14 Wilco - Wilco (The Album) 169
15 Bat for Lashes - Two Suns 154
16 Doves - Kingdom of Rust 149
17 Kasabian – The West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum 149
18 The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love 131
19 The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin 119
20 Bob Dylan - Together Through Life 114
21 La Roux - La Roux 112
22 Muse - The Resistance 110
23 Madness - The Liberty of Norton Folgate 108
24 The Cribs – Ignore the Ignorant 105
25 The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart 104
26 Empire of the Sun - Walking on a Dream 103
27 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone 103
28 Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career 97
29 Jamie T - Kings & Queens 97
30 Bill Calahan – Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle 96
31 Tinariwen - Imidiwan: Companions 90
32 Future Of The Left - Travels With Myself And Another 89
33 Girls - Album 87
34 Passion Pit - Manners 87
35 Richard Hawley – Truelove’s Gutter 86
36 The Phantom Band – Checkmate Savage 83
37 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You 78
38 Sonic Youth - The Eternal 77
39 Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk 75
40 Sunn 0))) – Monoliths And Dimensions 73
41 Noah and the Whale - The First Days of Spring 71
42 The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love 71
43 The Hidden Cameras - Origin: Orphan 71
44 The Twilight Sad - Forget The Night Ahead 68
45 The Flaming Lips – Embryonic 66
46 Jack Penate - Everything is New 65
47 The Maccabees - Wall Of Arms 64
48 Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 62
49 U2 - No Line on the Horizon 62
50 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula 60

Sources:

Q Magazine
Mojo Magazine
Uncut Magazine
Amazon Editors
The Times
The Time New Artists
musicOMH
NME
Planet Sound
The Fly

hang on, how is that albumvote list compiled? show me the maths on that, I'm curious about something

no idea of how it was compiled, just spotted the link in my RSS reader

Are people seriously rating Florence + the Machine above Neko Case? I like them both, but c'mon.

they don't seem to say on the site. can't work out if they're just aggregating the placements within various lists, or if they're basing it off the points allotted to the albums on the lists when they came out

(or if it's some weird voting system that they do on the site)

the logical weighted system for consensus would be 50 points for number 1, 1 point for 50th

ah. the vote button on the site was confusing me

all the sources so far are mainstream media reflecting the AlbumVote website, they are not interested in Rock-A-Rolla, and the likes of Terrorizer and The Wire

terrorizer and the wire lists dont usually come out til january.

that's why i mentioned "the likes of"

To get an idea of the scope of albumvote, their coming soon lists only established / high profile artists

http://www.albumvote.co.uk/albums/prerel.aspx

the problem with http://www.albumvote.co.uk/albums/best/2009.aspx is the .uk

7 Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers 235

like find me one american mag that still cares about this crap

50 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula 60

I've been trying to fins a leak of this to twitter review forever. Internet is scrubbed clean. Could someone hip me to a mediafire link on 77 or something?

*find*

DJ Mencap, if yr reading, I don't really buy into the term 'post-rock' but this Teeth Of The Sea record is one of the best albums perhaps lying within a certain 'post-rock' discourse that I've heard in years

50 Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba – I Speak Fula 60

Whiney, I think there's a publicist now handling this who might get you a legit download.

xp yeah parts of it had me thinking of the stuff that got called post-rock before Mogwai etc - nerdy English noodling like Pram and Moonshake - but w/ a load of 70s drug rock thrown in

I'm not sure anyone in Britain still cares about the Manics, that album appears to be this year's Dig Lazarus Dig.

it certainly isn't noodling - it's pretty damn direct and righteous

(wasn't like Hood and Ganger and that last Slowdive album the predominant sort of British pre-Mogwai post-rock?)

Hmm, Ganger started about the same time as Mogwai iirc - Hood were around earlier but really obscure before being on Domino (whereupon they became the biggest band in the world etc) and not so much 'post'-anything as weird and fidgety - Slowdive were a thing too I guess

You mean "England's answer to black metal" Hood?

decent review, unnecessary neurosis dig, mentions my favourite torche song: http://www.lowcut.dk/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=571:teeth-of-the-sea--orphaned-by-the-ocean&catid=29:album-reviews&Itemid=54

Hood were EBM! I keep saying that. It's still true. I only called them 'post-rock' because that's what everyone said they were. It's a silly term.

That was an xpost, btw :D

(yeah noodling isn't the right word... just reading back my review of it and recalling that the olde poste rocke thing is mainly contained in the last track on the album anyway)

Whiney, I think there's a publicist now handling this who might get you a legit download.

― curmudgeon, Tuesday, December 8, 2009 1:38 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

who is it?

rock, paper, scissors

http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/index.cfm/fuseaction/current.home.cfm

i work with them a lot; drop me a line and i'll point you at somebody whiney

The Quietus 20-1
20. PJ Harvey & John Parish - A Woman A Man Walked By
19. Teeth Of The Sea - Orphaned By The Ocean
18. Soap & Skin - Lovetune For Vacuum
17. Ben Frost - By The Throat
16. Githead - Landing
15. British Sea Power - Man Of Aran
14. Abouretum - Song Of The Pearl
13. Shrinebuilder - Shrinebuilder
12. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
11. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
10. Cold Cave - Love Comes Close
9. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
8. Gnaw Their Tongues - All The Dread Magnificence Of Perversity
7. Gyratory System - The Sound Board Breathes
6. Oneida - Rated O
5. Manic Street Preachers - Journal for Plague Lovers
4. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
3. The xx - xx
2. The Horrors - Primary Colours
1. Sunn O))) - Monoliths And Dimensions

I saw The Gyratory System live at Offset; they were quite good although I'd imagine better on record. A bit repetitive and noodly in the live sphere.

I really did not like that Soap & Skin album.

Hood were EBM! I keep saying that. It's still true.

http://www.shout.ru/news/front242_promo2003_01.jpg

Hood, yesterday.

gyratory system are really good actually.

at least, i thought their album was v interesting, in a brazen, experimental way. Others might think it sounds like someone who went mental with the GTA cheat where you can make fire engines fall out the sky.

Still wanna hear that Ben Frost album.

me too!

not seeing much love for 'the visitor' :-(

me three!

yes, gyratory system ARE much better on record. THANK U SPOFITY

actually they kinda rock

look at them, caring about processed trumpet rave-ups!

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs204.snc1/7133_638626271040_36910239_40921193_3199476_n.jpg

I'm shocked the NME couldn't find room for the Super Furry Animals album, they always have them in no matter what they put out. They even put his solo album in last time. Also really disappointed they missed out The Flaming Lips album.

nme probably think they cant sell the lips album to the kids

^^^yeah, especially considering this was their best album since RATW xpost

If you had have told me this time last year the Manics would be in their list and Super Furry Animals wouldn't I would have never believed it.

They gave the Flaming Lips album a great review, it really deserved a place.

It's strange how Animal Collective are really high up on these lists when I don't remember seeing any of their previous albums featured.

I really don't get the MPP fuss one little bit, and I never will.

^^^^^
I will second this every chance I have.

I actually bought that and the Grizzly Bear album and sold them both. They just didn't do it for me.

To these ears it's just crummy overstuffed wanktastic psychedelic murk masquerading as mind-altering pop. Somehow everyone seems to have decided it has exemplary groove and melody. I hear a chore to get through, and an almost preternatural lack of dynamics or narrative. They're showy tech-jams with earnest lyrics and lots and lots of sparkles.

So bummed the alternative version of While You Wait For The Others, with Michael McDonald fronting Grizzly Bear, isn't available anywhere. One of my favorites of the year. (xp)

It's strange how Animal Collective are really high up on these lists when I don't remember seeing any of their previous albums featured

Bet they'll be a backlash against MPP in a lot of the upcoming year-end lists. It will be No. 1 on the P4K list, but I bet it ranks below expectations elsewhere.

The Gyratory System album, which has just finished, COMPLETELY spunks all over MPP in just about every way imaginable.

I'm not sure anyone wants to know which music makes you spunk, LJ.

what is MPP?

merry pepper's lonely hearts pavilion

what is MPP?

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

Mojo and Uncut album of the year

ah okay sorry thought it was a band...didn't know that album had reached acronym level

Mojo and Uncut album of the year

the uk just finally catching up on pitchfork innit?

I write MPP not because the disc has reached some high level of cultural significance, but because it's a pain to constantly have to type "Merriweather Post Pavilion."

(xp)

daniel otm...matt yours is a subtle dig but come on that name is kinda tiring and embarrassing to type

what's strange about the MMP placing? it's clearly a breakthrough album in the most traditional sense possible.

nb - I am not necassarily talking about musical quality yada yada.

sorry dudes honestly i just didn't put the pieces together mentally on that one!

ilx is the only place ive seen it referred to as MPP

I really don't get the MPP fuss one little bit, and I never will stop reminding ilx of this opinion (maybe by 2010).

― 102. LJ: British. 5. (acoleuthic), Tuesday, 8 December 2009 21:48

zing zang zong with a zing-a-ling zung

MMP - My Morning Panda. Did anyone see the odd episode of American Dad a few weeks back that features My Morning Jacket? That's another band I don't get.

Oh, I love MMJ. They hit that arena/Southern-rock sweet spot that I've been nostalgic for. And those big vocal harmonies in the choruses of Golden, Gideon and others are magnificent.

They sort of lost their way with that last album, but even there, once the embarrassing missteps were removed, it was pretty good.

I hope they're satisfied with getting "Wait, you guyz are a real band?" attitude from American Dad fans for a little while.

i thought they lost their way years ago. Their first electric album was their last good one imo

it's the turn of the Americans

Spin Magazine - 40 Best Albums of 2009
http://www.spin.com/gallery/40-best-albums-2009

summary via
http://countmeoutblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/spins-top-40-of-2009.html

40. Kiss - Sonic Boom
39. Wilco - Wilco (Wilco The Album)
38. Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap
37. Gallows - Grey Britain
36. Brakesbrakesbrakes - Touchdown
35. Miike Snow - Miike Snow
34. Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx
33. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
32. U2 - No Line On The Horizon
31. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
30. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
29. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
28. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
27. Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
26. The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come
25. The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
24. Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
23. St. Vincent - Actor
22. Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
21. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II
20. Paramore - Brand New Eyes
19. Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
18. Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light
17. Mastodon - Crack The Skye
16. Japandroids - Post-Nothing
15. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
14. Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
13. Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
12. Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer Of Fear
10. The Dead Weather - Horehound
09. Drake - So Far Gone
08. Florence And The Machine - Lungs
07. Mos Def - The Ecstatic
06. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
05. Girls - Album
04. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
03. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
02. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
01. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion

back to Britain...

Gigwise - Best 40 Albums of 2009

http://www.gigwise.com/photos/53787/The-Best-40-Albums-Of-2009

summary via:
http://pub37.bravenet.com/forum/static/show.php?usernum=3172289350&frmid=10&msgid=1020887&cmd=show

40. Seasick Steve: 'Man From Another Time'
39. Gallows: 'Grey Britain'
38. Major Lazer: 'Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do'
37. Crystal Stilts: 'Alight Of The Night'
36. Fanfarlo: 'Reservoir'
35. Muse: 'The Resistance'
34. The Prodigy: 'Invaders Must Die'
33. Eminem: 'Relapse'
32. DOOM: 'Born Like This'
31. A Place To Bury Strangers: 'Exploding Head'
30. The Decemberists: 'The Hazards of Love'
29. The Flaming Lips: 'Embryonic'
28. Phoenix: 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix'
27. Jay-Z: 'The Blueprint 3'
26. The Low Anthem: 'Oh My God, Charlie Darwin'
25. Mumford & Sons: 'Sign No More'
24. Passion Pit: 'Manners'
23. Bat For Lashes: 'Two Suns'
22. Golden Silvers: 'True Romance'
21. Dirty Projectors: 'Bitte Orca'
20. Vitalic: 'Flashmob'
19. Jamie T: 'Kings and Queens'
18. The Big Pink: 'A Brief History Of Love'
17. HEALTH: 'Get Color'
16. Moderat: 'Moderat'
15. Florence and The Machine: 'Lungs'
14. Manic Street Preachers: 'Journal For Plague Lovers'
13. The Temper Trap: 'Conditions'
12. Memory Tapes: 'Seek Magic'
11. Noah and The Whale: 'First Days Of Spring'
10. The xx: 'xx'
9. Royksopp: 'Junior'
8. Fever Ray: 'Fever Ray'
7. The Maccabees: 'Wall Of Arms'
6. Grizzly Bear: 'Veckatimest'
5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 'It's Blitz'
4. The Horrors: 'Primary Colours'
3. Fuck Buttons: 'Tarot Sport'
2. Animal Collective: 'Merriweather Post Pavillion'
1. Wild Beasts: 'Two Dancers'

To these ears it's just crummy overstuffed wanktastic psychedelic murk masquerading as mind-altering pop

Wait Louis I thought you said you didn't like it?

Surprised the M. Ward album isn't appearing in any of these, given the general bent of most of the lists.

back to America...

NPR - Listeners

All Songs Considered Listeners Pick The Best Music Of 2009
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121103815&ps=cprs

summary via
http://www.babystew.com/?p=5769

1. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
2. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
3. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
4. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
5. Andrew Bird: Noble Beast
6. The Decemberists: Hazzards of Love
7. Wilco: Wilco (The Album)
8. Bon Iver: Blood Bank
9. The Avett Brothers: I And Love And You
10. St. Vincent: Actor
11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz!
12. Regina Spektor: Far
13. M. Ward: Hold Time
14. The Swell Season: Strict Joy
15. Monsters of Folk: Monsters of Folk
16. The Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
17. Passion Pit: Manners
18. Various: Dark Was The Night
19. Camera Obscura: My Maudlin Career
20. Metric: Fantasies
21. Beirut: March of the Zapotec
22. The xx: XX
23. Bat For Lashes: Two Suns
24. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: Up From Below
25. Modest Mouse: No One’s First, And You’re Next

God the consensus emerging is depressing, it's like everyone involved in compiling these lists has aged about 25 years over the course of 2009.

26 + 25 = 51 = Mark Radcliffe - so the consensus is reflective of Radcliffe & Maconie Radio 2 show?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Radcliffe

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/the-radcliffe-and-maconie-show/

xp srsly, when you look at eg the above and start thinking 'oh Regina Spektor that's a nice change' you are deep in that rabbithole

sucks about Mark Radcliffe getting sugbanned btw, RIP big man

I'm still not sure by this age thing Matt - are you still referring to dulcet/lack of noise/speed/fun? Does this necessarily represent youth? Maybe critics are tired of hedonism.. It could be said that subtlety/understatement/gentleness has been a major part of what 2009 has been about - minimalism, freak folk, dubstep all represent this, and things like MPP and Veckatimest are a sort of culmination of some of these aspects.

I thought the M. Ward album was sincerely disappointing compared to everything else he's done.

it makes me sad to see st vincent (and to a lesser extent camera obscura) amongst the rest of this dross, but that's almost certainly just because i really like it and have zero interest in the rest

sorry about last post - very disjointed as i'm at work.

Maybe critics are tired of hedonism

fyi we're not

I have no problem with earnest men with beards playing slow quiet music IN MODERATION but (YYYs/Fuck Buttons aside) the upper reaches of these polls seem to be united by a lack of energy, fun, noise, groove, mischief, most of the things I love in music.

It's also partly a feeling of resentment at the Pitchforkisation of the UK music press, I preferred it when they were championing dreadful haircut indie bands because at least there was a sizeable audience for that stuff. Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Wilco, Dirty Projectors... these records just have no cultural context over here.

Onion AV club

25. Japandroids: Post-Nothing
24. Antony & The Johnsons: The Crying Light
23. White Rabbits: It’s Frightening
22. Fall Out Boy: Folie À Deux
21. The Thermals: Now We Can See
20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs: It’s Blitz
19. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
18. Lucero: 1372 Overton Park
17. Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
16. St. Vincent: Actor
15. Art Brut: Vs. Satan
14. Future Of The Left: Travels With Myself And Another
13. Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt II
12. Jay-Z: The Blueprint 3
11. The Antlers: Hospice
10. Andrew Bird: Noble Beast
9. Brother Ali: Us
8. Converge: Axe To Fall
7. P.O.S.: Never Better
6. Neko Case: Middle Cyclone
5. Dirty Projectors: Bitte Orca
4. Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer
3. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
2. Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
1. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Time magazine's top 10 is surprisingly good!

Top 10 Albums

1. American Saturday Night by Brad Paisley
2. Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
3. Crack the Skye by Mastodon
4. Revolution by Miranda Lambert
5. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
6. Love vs. Money by The-Dream
7. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Pt 2 by Raekwon
8. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
9. I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers
10. The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1945379,00.html

Ellie Goulding win Brits Critics Choice award
http://bit.ly/79cAWi

following previous winners Adele and Florence and the Machine

that will be a Mercury Prize slot guaranteed then

It's also partly a feeling of resentment at the Pitchforkisation of the UK music press, I preferred it when they were championing dreadful haircut indie bands because at least there was a sizeable audience for that stuff. Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Wilco, Dirty Projectors... these records just have no cultural context over here.

At least those bands are doing something a bit more adventurous than the haircut indie hordes(imo the blight of the decade). What cultural significance did those bands represent anyway? That we're a bunch of vapid pissheads with an overdeveloped dress sense and absolutely no desire to do anything other than create middle-of-the-road rehashes of 70s pub rock? No wonder the NME and these lists have decided to take Pfork's side - British rock has a hell of a lot of catching up to do.

I said context, not significance.

middle-of-the-road rehashes of 70s pub rock

in what way are these p4k american beardhorde *not* the US equivalent of exactly the same thing?

eek, skimmed over these lists and they're truly indefensible. why do my fellow critics have such shitty taste :(

The sizable audience thing - do you not think that this was almost entirely created by the music press? i.e. NME wants to regenerate the success of its Britpop heyday, finds a bunch of dull-as-dishcloth Kaiser Chief/Stroke-soundalikes, creates a scene, kids get interested and buy NME, lather, rinse, repeat until the formula stops working - which it now has.

Saying that the NME shouldn't be covering or championing leftfield American indie and should stick to what it knows best seems very "Britons know your place" - this music is current and relevant, and yes it's good stuff, so what's the problem?

For what it's worth, I think Animal Collective are plenty fun and have a lot of noise eneergy. Much more exciting than just trying to sound like Oasis or the Stones or whatever.

Haha, Matt's argument sounds a lot like the motions I was going through when I originally opposed minimal house and dubstep, because at the time I had a hard time finding the fun/noise/energy in those styles.

middle-of-the-road rehashes of 70s pub rock

in what way are these p4k american beardhorde *not* the US equivalent of exactly the same thing?

― Karen Tregaskin, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 12:30 (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

I don't think Animal Collective sound like Lynyrd Skynyrd, if that's what you're saying. Neither do Dirty Projectors. There's a case in point for Grizzly Bear and Wilco, as more middle of the road bands, yes, but their music is a lot more forward thinking than, for example The View or the Kooks or almost any one of those bands.

The sizable audience thing - do you not think that this was almost entirely created by the music press?

No, quite the opposite. What the NME's been doing for the last ten years is following trends from early on, rather than driving them. Of course they influence the growth of those trends, but there are reasons why the likes of the Arctic Monkeys succeeded and, say, The Vines failed.

You can't create an audience if there isn't a sizeable groundswelling fanbase in the first place. I don't really see that's the case with, say, Grizzly Bear. Fair enough if the critics like them and want to vote for them, but it feels like we're in a low period for guitar music right now and there seems to be resistance towards covering the stuff that's flowing in to fill that void.

Not sure the Kooks sound much like Dr Feelgood or Eddie & the Hot Rods either to be fair.

xpost

Basically what I'm getting at is that there's been a big tilt away from club/gig/otherwise socially-experienced guitar music in favour of bedroom indie.

I just clocked that that NPR poll was actually voted by the listeners - I know next to nothing about NPR aside from the (seeimgly strawmannish) way it gets referred to on here but the extent to which it lines up with what writers from every fucking magazine under the sun have apparently been voting for is... a thing

i'm with the good colonel on this one.

i think that so much of this (actually quite retro) american indie only sounds "forward thinking" because their american 70s references have an exotic appeal you're not entirely familiar with

I preferred it when they were championing dreadful haircut indie bands because at least there was a sizeable audience for that stuff. Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Wilco, Dirty Projectors... these records just have no cultural context over here.

there seem to be plenty of people here who like these bands tho and have done for a few years tho - it's not particularly surprising for mags to recognise this (or even disappointing in that they're probably better than wha. in NME's case i don't think its any different to 10 years ago when they were rating Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips and co above all.

by here i mean UK (or at least London)

i don't think its any different to 10 years ago when they were rating Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips and co above all.

Exactly my point, this is the period they're now viewing as the dark days before The Strokes came and revitalised rock and roll or whatever nonsense they're peddling. The difference is that at the time Rev/Lips didn't have any cultural context here either (although the Flaming Lips grew into one) and the Strokes clearly did - people were going out in their droves to dance to them, dress like them, photograph them, etc.

THEY'RE ALL SHIT and should not be on anyone's lists

i'm still totally perplexed as to the "cultural context" or relevance or whatever chord it was that the strokes touched in people

The Strokes = NME brainwashing teenagers

those evil bastards

no, not in that way. but so much of their appeal at the time seemed to be based on "omg nyc is so kool!" - again the appeal of the exotic

Didn't NME used to include at least token r'n'b and reggae and whatever acts in their top 10? Maybe that way back in the early '80s.

I think they did that even as recently as 2001, then it died out completely. In the 80s and early 90s it was widespread rather than tokenistic, before the NME retreated into its tightly defined indie ghetto.

Lex: Have you been out drinking at lunchtime again?

I wonder if any writers there have been discouraged from writing about non-rock, or do the editors there now just don't hire anyone with such interests or seek out such writing from freelancers. Or are there not enough writers interested in those genres to have an impact at year-end time.

the only substances i've ingested today are sudafed and sudafed and lemsip and more fucking sudafed

Basically what I'm getting at is that there's been a big tilt away from club/gig/otherwise socially-experienced guitar music in favour of bedroom indie.

Well I guess that's your cultural signficance. Smoking ban + recession = people more reluctant to go out and spend money on gigs and fashion I guess. I still see the quashing of haircut indie and a swing towards the (admitedly more cerebral) leftfield as 100% a good thing. While right now it's very much a US trend, I'm looking forward to the Brits getting spurred into picking up the slack a bit - the Horrors album is a good example of this. Don't wanna get all "good-old-days" about it, but I'm thinking of the days when Parklife, Holy Bible, His'n'Hers, Dogmanstar, Snivilisation, Protection, SAWII could all come out of Britain, have culturally significant context, be good and relatively original, and be commercially worthwhile.

sorry significance/context interchangeable in that last post

What's SAWII?

Selected Ambient Works II by Aphex Twin.

Aha thanks.

If we're talking about the UK music press at that time, my recollection is there being as much Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Wonderstuff and (later) Cast and Ocean Colour Scene as Orbital, Aphex Twin and Pulp. At least the NME was more catholic in its tastes though.

Smoking ban + recession = people more reluctant to go out and spend money on gigs and fashion I guess.

what? no

I still see the quashing of haircut indie and a swing towards the (admitedly more cerebral) leftfield as 100% a good thing.

both shit. if the choice is between the libertines and animal fucking collective then god help us all

While right now it's very much a US trend, I'm looking forward to the Brits getting spurred into picking up the slack a bit - the Horrors album is a good example of this.

the horrors = the slack slackens further

Don't wanna get all "good-old-days" about it, but I'm thinking of the days when Parklife, Holy Bible, His'n'Hers, Dogmanstar, Snivilisation, Protection, SAWII could all come out of Britain, have culturally significant context, be good and relatively original, and be commercially worthwhile.

the good old days of 4 x indie albums and 2 x indie-friendly electronica being used as evidence of a greater range of stuff covered? lol

if the choice is between the libertines and animal fucking collective then god help us all

luckily it's not, though i pity those for whom it is

I think we're definitely moving towards a more 90s-esque openly pluralistic and overlapping UK music scene (we have been since about 2006 really) and the renaissance in British dance music has helped.

My main gripe is that the music press, especially those aimed at younger people, isn't reflecting that. I don't really care if the NME or whoever focuses almost exclusively on guitars when we're in a boom period for guitar music. It's glaringly obvious from both the charts and these lists that that's no longer the case.

xxposts Yeah, and I think that's where it's going back to. Open up its pages and there's starting to become a much better spread of bands, from haircut indie bores to US PFork stuff, to electro-fashistas and a bit of Dizzee and dubstep thrown in for good measure too. It's an incremental sea-change but a huge leap away from the ConnorMac rigidness of the last decade.

it's the increasing retrenchment of genre that i see as problematic here

what everyone says again and again about as having been "better" about the 90s (don't know if that decade is a function of the 30-something age bias of ilx) was the broader coverage of all genres within very mainstream press. it seems quite ironic to me that it's the very opening up of the media - the huge amount of information available on the internet - that has driven people further and further into genre bifurcation and specification

the fewer organs you have, the more they have to cover in order to reach everyone. but why would you rely on a mainstream organ when you can go to a dozen specialist blogs covering exactly what you want? so the mainstream press (thinking of the nme here) has to make itself into a niche in order to claw any kind of audience at all

i just see this "nme recognising p4k indie" not as a giant move forward, but a switch from one kind of haircut indie to a lack-of-haircut indie

^^^ OTM.

who me? my first otm! i feel so proud

Sorry Matt, I refuse to believe the 00s have been a boom period for British guitar music, speaking qualitatively rather than quantitatively. People bemoan Britpop these days, but I'd take bullshit like Sleeper or Menswear over half the crap NME have been trying to get their readership to jump on over the last few years.

xposts - you guys type too fast!

if the choice is between the libertines and animal fucking collective then god help us all

luckily it's not, though i pity those for whom it is

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 13:32 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

Straw man alert! No one's claiming this so far as I can see.

i just see this "nme recognising p4k indie" not as a giant move forward, but a switch from one kind of haircut indie to a lack-of-haircut indie

Maybe so. I guess time will tell - but I'll give you another OTM all the same :-)

i think that so much of this (actually quite retro) american indie only sounds "forward thinking" because their american 70s references have an exotic appeal you're not entirely familiar with

― Karen Tregaskin, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 12:50 (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Just out of interest which bands (new and 70s) do you have in mind here?

i am kinda more annoyed by Phoenix doing so well on so many lists. i like a few of the songs but most over-rated album of the year after F+TM imo (not heard Grizzly Bear).

wow nice seeing AV Club put Fall Out Boy in their list, came out in December '08 and really didn't get its due on year end lists last year or this year

I'd take bullshit like Sleeper or Menswear over half the crap NME have been trying to get their readership to jump on over the last few years

why take either?

narcissism of *no* differences :/

there's nothing wrong with being influenced by something if you expand on it or take it in a new direction. i'm trying to think of a retro band by whom animal collective might have been influenced, and the only one i can think of is the beach boys, and that influence stopped making itself apparent ages ago.

Grizzly Bear/Wilco are just the most common denominations of a huge amount of very current acts from Devendra to Spoon to Iron and Wine to Fleet Foxes who wear their Americanian influences on their sleeves, but to give them credit do each have their own specific sound and often write incredibly good songs without ripping off their influences or each other too much. Compare this to the vast majority of Brit-guit indie bores from the last ten years and their sound is entirely defensible.

I would take the worst landfill indie over Eagles-wannabe Devendra Banhart tbh.

Is time the first one to include the-dream?

first I see

what everyone says again and again about as having been "better" about the 90s (don't know if that decade is a function of the 30-something age bias of ilx) was the broader coverage of all genres within very mainstream press. it seems quite ironic to me that it's the very opening up of the media - the huge amount of information available on the internet - that has driven people further and further into genre bifurcation and specification

My sense is that media sites cover a broader range of stuff in terms of actual reviews but then the end of year polls end up more focused around the site's home turf.

My pet theory for this is that writers within a single media site don't engage with one another as much as they used to because everything is handled online - I have to admit that I've made zero effort to "win over" other pitchfork writers to the stuff i've liked of late because, well, I don't know them personally, and they're not the only online community I'm involved with. I come here to talk about e.g. uk funky.

Whereas maybe if I'd written for the NME in the 90s and I really got into a dance album, the only way I'd be able to engage in discourse about it would have been to turn my fellow NME writers onto it.

i guess since lindstrøm & christabelle's been released (through rough trade only) it'd be 09-eligible. hmm.

i want to clarify that i'm not making any sort of better-in-the-90s argument; i didn't grow up reading the music press, but as far as i can tell it was just as limited and overlooked pretty much the same type of things that it does now.

It's also partly a feeling of resentment at the Pitchforkisation of the UK music press...there's been a big tilt away from club/gig/otherwise socially-experienced guitar music in favour of bedroom indie.

weird, it's almost as if people are now discovering new music via their home computers ;)

wow nice seeing AV Club put Fall Out Boy in their list, came out in December '08 and really didn't get its due on year end lists last year or this year

― some dude,

I wish I could take the giving faint praise approach--hailing one major-label emo rock among the AV Club's list of mostly the same ol' indie, with 3 rap out 25 and no r'n'b, no country, no Southern soul, no African, no Latin, no Caribbean. I'll bet metal and dance folks won't find much in the AV Club list either.

i don't actually think i'm arguing that it was "better" in the 90s (my own personal opinion is that it's just different) - but that i could see why people see 90s music coverage as being better (or at least more diverse)

and listening to it on personal portable devices that soundtrack their individual day rather than listening in any sort of more socialized setting

Yes but people are still going out to listen to that music in clubs and bars with other people, and these clubs and bars are in general not playing the Dirty Projectors.

tim otm. for all the zeitgeist created by e.g. pitchfork, there's less sense "impact" when an album comes out these days. i guess this is what sreynolds was saying in his recent blog post, that while there's a LOT of good music coming out, fans and critics aren't so inclined to jump on it all at once like they used to - it's VERY difficult for an album to rock the world now. Even though MPP has topped a lot of critics' lists, I doubt many people in my office would have even heard of them, which is a very strange phenomenon.

there are still several albums which have felt like "events" this year - the rihanna one in [articular

*particular

Yes but people are still going out to listen to that music in clubs and bars with other people, and these clubs and bars are in general not playing the Dirty Projectors.

In Chicago, Brooklyn, D.C., college towns, etc. they certainly do play stuff like that in bars. And in shops, cafes, restaurants, tv ads, on tv shows, in films, etc. (Clubbing is more niche here than U.S. indie, so it's not really applicable.) I think you UK ILxers underestimate how central some of this stuff has become these days. Maybe not DP specifically granted, they are still a bit more leftfield. (But not too leftfield to be posted on Kanye's blog, perform with the Roots/Mos Def/Talib Kewli on a late-night talk show, be covered by Solange, etc.)

lex, it might have to you - i was too busy listening to shit animal collective albums to notice.

well, that's too bad for you, but it was definitely a cultural event that had an impact on the wider world in the sense that it was noted and covered beyond the music press.

I wish I could take the giving faint praise approach--hailing one major-label emo rock among the AV Club's list of mostly the same ol' indie, with 3 rap out 25 and no r'n'b, no country, no Southern soul, no African, no Latin, no Caribbean. I'll bet metal and dance folks won't find much in the AV Club list either.

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, December 9, 2009 9:06 AM (12 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hey, so many of these lists have absolutely nothing I like on them, or just the most ubiquitous and universal stuff I happen to like, so I get excited when I see a dark horse favorite get some love. I lack the capacity to get blue in the face about critical trends and demographics that a lot of folks here have.

Scott - maybe it's central in the US, and I'm not attacking the US press for covering it. I just don't think it's particularly relevant to the UK, in particular in comparison to a lot of music that's been absolutely central to the British pop 'narrative' over the last year.
The single biggest pop story of the last 12 months here has been British MCs finally breaking open the glass ceiling, having hits and becoming genuine household names here - that's barely mentioned in end-of-year round-ups.

I'd argue the very geography of being on a small island makes all the difference. Anyone who can get the cash together can get to the clubs where the stuff they're into is happening with relative ease, that's just not possible if you're at the wrong end of the United States. Maybe that encourages a proliferation of bedroom bands and regional club scenes.

The single biggest pop story of the last 12 months here...

Okay I might be overlooking that whole Michael Jackson thing in terms of big pop stories but you get my point.

scott: that leaves a whole lotta america where all that shit is basically unheard of

it's VERY difficult for an album to rock the world now

actually, thinking about this - this is the received wisdom, but i'm really not sure it's true. it's easier to avoid stuff if you don't care about it (though maybe it was as easy to avoid madonna and michael jackson in the '80s if you really wanted to?), but the way in which things like the "bad romance" video, rihanna album and so on were treated in the non-music media definitely counts as musical projects having an impact on the world.

American College types listen to Woxy, a web radio station recently relocated to Austin, Texas from Cincinnati, Ohio,

http://woxy.com/

matt, i get what you're saying about the uk cultural narrative - but if there's nothing interesting happening in uk guitar music, does the nme necessarily have to cover it? the only worthwhile leftfield british guitar bands to rival their american cousins who i can think of are 65daysofstatic and electrelane - and they didn't exactly set the pages of the NME on fire.

well, that's too bad for you, but it was definitely a cultural event that had an impact on the wider world in the sense that it was noted and covered beyond the music press.

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 9 December 2009 14:23 (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

What, like on MTV Hits? Or among you and your friends? The reason I ask is that, whether you like it or agree or not, only a handful of people in years to come are going to equate the release of a Rhianna album as a major event in 2009. I don't even make such claims for artists I have been following.

the "Bad Romance" video is a good example (never had my brother-in-law enthusiastically text me about a music video before that), although I'm not sure it's exactly "Billie Jean," and Rihanna's 20/20 interview has probably had far more impact/awareness than any song from her album at this point.

there was a lot of coverage of her abuse at the hands of that misogynist prick... don't think that translates into the album itself being an event.

Here's a different 2009 cultural world

Latin Beat Magazine (that I think is going online only now) top 10 lists from their contributors half way down the page. I do not think any of their critics also contribute to NME or Pitchfork--

http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html

if there's nothing interesting happening in uk guitar music, does the nme necessarily have to cover it

No, but if they want people to keep buying it they'll have to move with the times and focus on what their readership is actually into. There's a reason they haven't put Animal Collective on the cover.

What, like on MTV Hits? Or among you and your friends? The reason I ask is that, whether you like it or agree or not, only a handful of people in years to come are going to equate the release of a Rhianna album as a major event in 2009. I don't even make such claims for artists I have been following.

Oh come on, over the last couple of months it has been virtually impossible to open any newspaper without Rihanna appearing in it somewhere. I'm no fan of the album but everything around it has been a massive 2009 pop event.

lol @ thinking that rihanna's impact is confined to mtv hits o_0

you probably have to take an active disinterest in her to be unaware not only that she has an album out but also what its themes are. as i said, it's been covered from so many angles, from the music to the ubiquitous tabloid photos to the "serious news" inc that amazing 20/20 interview. calls to the US national domestic abuse helpline went up by 73% after that interview - if that's not having an impact on the world at large, idk what is.

i wasn't expecting the gaga video to be the event it was until it became so, weirdly - it did actually feel like a genuine, organic wave of enthusiasm/interest was happening

why do we care abt music 'having an impact on the world at large', btw? sure we can all point to artists who mean jack shit 'in the wider context' or whatevs, who we still love and cherish and think are great great artists

i don't, particularly, but dog latin seems to

I think it's totally possible for someone to have heard about Rihanna's life all year long without really being aware that she has an album or singles out (Britney circa Blackout syndrome), its first week sales weren't huge and the singles have been pretty minor hits for someone who's hit #1 so many times.

lex - okay, so i obviously wasn't paying attention to any of that, my bad - don't even know what went on with those interviews.

but do you think the rhianna album has rocked the world - like bad, like nevermind, like sgt peppers, like nation of millions etc..? or is the recent tabloid and news furore more in sync with general interest in the celeb rather than their music? has tiger woods' recent debacle lit the world of golf on fire, or just the tabloids?

xposts

On those terms the Cheryl Cole album had a bigger UK impact.

DL I think those comparisons are just a leeeeeeeetle bit of a red herring given that the album's been out five minutes!

That said I agree with Al

"albums that rocked the world" <-- i'm having some trouble parsing what the criteria for this is based on your list

especially if press/tabloid/general population's awareness of said work as a media event is excluded from the "rockingness" criteria?

Doglatin you weren't actually there at the time for any of them, or at least not old enough to have been paying attention.

This is all a massive red herring given that the actual genuine biggest pop phenomenon of the year was Susan Boyle and the idea of any magazine we're talking about putting her on the cover or voting for her in a poll is frankly hilarious.

look - what i'm saying here is that in 09, an album just isn't going to be as ubiquitously recognised and loved as one from ten-twenty years ago. Of course the Rihanna album's going to appeal and hold personal cache to many people, same as MPP, but they're still very specific niches. There's no one or two, big year defining record, even within genre boundaries.

Sure but this implies that the version of history that has the albums you cited there as being "year-defining" was empirically true and obvious at the time - I would suggest this wasn't generally the case at all

^um sorry, grammar is fucked up there

i'd argue that the-dream/animal collective/lady gaga albums fits your "year defining" standards

maybe within genres but

Of course the Rihanna album's going to appeal and hold personal cache to many people, same as MPP, but they're still very specific niches

the rihanna niche is just that bit bigger than the other one, which is kind of what qualifies her album and its attendant campaign as an actual cultural event noticed by people who aren't necessarily invested in her

I got the impression DL was trying to suggest stuff that impacted on music in the popular phenomenon sense? xp

bad, like nevermind, like sgt peppers, like nation of millions etc..?

this is just an absurd set of examples to me. i was alive and conscious of pop culture for 3 of the 4 and none of them felt epoch-defining at the time

you might have got me to agree had you said thriller instead of bad - thriller was the only one of those that it *felt* like something huge and groundbreaking and shifting was happening - even though at the time, michael jackson was still part of a pack of artists, thriller just went exponentially massive in a way that madonna and prince didn't at the time because they released EVERY SINGLE TRACK OFF IT AS A SINGLE which seemed, even to my just coming up teen ears to be a bit of a stunt

which only goes to say that i'm agreeing that album of the year does not always seem apparent at the end of the year. the things that seem massive or epochal or paradigm shifting only really appear so with perspective

OK I didn't realize "Russian Roulette" went to #2 in the UK, that kinda explains some of the disconnect w/ Lex's opinion about the reach of the Rihanna album

Greg Kot - Top albums of 2009 - Chicago Tribune
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/turn_it_up/2009/12/top-albums-of-2009.html

the fact that the last time i personally noticed anyone saying or anything being said about rihanna was back when she released "umbrella", arguably diffuses her album from being a big album. and no, i didn't go out of my way to ignore her. if it was in the news, i prob didn't get the paper that day. but all in all, rihanna the person is not the same as rihanna the album, whatever that may entail. and yeah, more people will buy rihanna's album than mpp because it's that much more radio friendly. but this is all starting to get bogged down in - good god - personal taste, and we wouldn't want that now

Matt, I have been around long enough to experience "talked about" records - y'know, ones that people get excited about and take the day off to go out and buy on release day. "Kid A" is maybe the most recent example. this is never going to happen again.

erm every radiohead record has been like that

that's why the in rainbows thing worked - there was still that universal frisson

Matt, I have been around long enough to experience "talked about" records - y'know, ones that people get excited about and take the day off to go out and buy on release day. "Kid A" is maybe the most recent example. this is never going to happen again.

if i were a betting man, i'd go to ladbrokes AGAINST this one

(the only thing that would mitigate this is the fact that people don't have to take the day off work to order things off amazon or d/l them off iTunes or whatevs)

I don't recall anything specifically exciting about Kid A being released and I gave many times more of a fuck abt Radiohead then than I do now

scott: that leaves a whole lotta america where all that shit is basically unheard of

it certainly does, no doubt. Outside of maybe Lady Gaga or the Black Eyed Peas (or Susan Boyle or Michael Jackson) I don't think there was anything that was unavoidable. We just don't have collective cultural musical experiences the way we used to, or the way the UK still can.

Al's right-- that Rihanna had an album out meant nothing in the context of her celebrity narrative this year. Rihanna went on TV when she did because of the album, but she wasn't booked at that time because of it. She could have gone on 20/20 at any point this year and had the same impact as a celebrity and advocate. The album itself was a footnote, as her chart performances has indicated: her last album had five hits more successful than the lead single from Rated R. The general consensus on the hip-hop/pop DJs over here, from the bits I've heard, is that the LP is too dark and in the long run will be a relative flop.

I think the biggest problem with this, and bear with me here guys, is that 2009 as a year has been significantly WORSE in terms of actual output than ANY other year this decade. However, things are building for a quite magnificent 2010. I doubt we'll be having this discussion next year. Everyone's hiding in the fatty folds of MPP & Friends for now, but trust me that won't be happening again for a while. I see this as a farewell to consensus indie. Optimism!

fact starting to put their list up btw; how is tht hudson mohawke rec? I searched for a thread but nothing doing

ew @ the image of MPP's fatty folds

yeah, i've definitely been sitting around on my arse smoking dope and not working on my album coz i really want it to be epochal and decade-defining for the 2010s, rather than a dribble from the arse end of the noughties

it's true, you've caught me out on that & i bet every other artist in the world is thinking the same thing

KID A was one of the first examples of viral internet marketing for albums, Radiohead had a playback widget which people could use

I'm not saying that's what's happening! I'm just saying that 2009 has been a bit of a shitty year, relatively speaking, but that a LOT of great things are due for release next year. I can sense a disturbance in the force.

i think 2009's been a pretty good year overall fwiw, but i agree - i think 2010 will be classic for a bunch of reasons i'm a bit at ends to go into here.

This is all a massive red herring given that the actual genuine biggest pop phenomenon of the year was Susan Boyle and the idea of any magazine we're talking about putting her on the cover or voting for her in a poll is frankly hilarious.

this is kind of important! i think we might be entering into an era of easily defined poor oppositional mass taste again!

http://www.newlog.com.ar/LPAL/Andy-Williams-angustia-de.jpg

i mean, now that i) 'proper pop' is pretty cool ii) also pretty good iii) no one gives a shit anymore, yeah right is the rihanna record 'an event' -

i mean, my friend's band is supporting jedward next week ha ha

you know who's more popular on last fm than anyone mentioned so far this thread? MORCHEEBA. and NICKELBACK. fuck yes

this is kind of important! i think we might be entering into an era of easily defined poor oppositional mass taste again!

James Blunt proves that we never left this era in the first place.

how is tht hudson mohawke rec? I searched for a thread but nothing doing

some talk of it on the "wonky s/d" thread, for some reason

yeah, i've definitely been sitting around on my arse smoking dope and not working on my album coz i really want it to be epochal and decade-defining for the 2010s, rather than a dribble from the arse end of the noughties

it's true, you've caught me out on that & i bet every other artist in the world is thinking the same thing

― Karen Tregaskin, Wednesday, December 9, 2009 10:40 AM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I've found kind of as a rule, about 95% of bands don't think like rock critics or about rock critics

tv on the radio are in the 5%

thx blueski just discovered joker's digidesign 9 mths too late thx to tht thread

who coined wonky and funky? smh

joker's kinda dope; i should be listening to more of this.

does time review music? their list was kinda good!

They do on occasion. Their list was one of the most varied ones posted here.

Mixmag Albums of the Year

it's a jpg so click to magnify:

http://www.stholdings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mixmagtop50albums.jpg

now doubt someone will do a summary list soon

Deadmau5 being on there (and their little blurb abt him) is really the kind of thing that brings it home how little different musical world interact sometimes - he seems to be like Christ to a certain strain of young raver but I have never once seen him mentioned on ILM

Ha The Prodigy are like the Dylan to Mixmag's Uncut aren't they

at least Mixmag included Juan Maclean

The XX's predicted status as this year's functional indie chillout/monging record for dance kids confirmed.

(Also known as the Erland Oye Award)

Also lol @ Top 5 Skanks.

nicki minaj?

FACT Magazine

40 best: Albums of 2009
http://bit.ly/8ko2Vn

so far, 20 to go

40: THE HORRORS
PRIMARY COLOURS
(XL)

39: SUBWAY
SUBWAY II
(SOUL JAZZ)

38: BLACK METEORIC STAR
BLACK METEORIC STAR
(DFA)

37: GIRLS
ALBUM
(TRUE PANTHER)

36: MAJOR LAZER
GUNS DON'T KILL PEOPLE…LAZERS DO
(DOWNTOWN)

35: WILLIAM BASINSKI
92982
(2062)

34: PAUL WHITE
THE STRANGE DREAMS OF PAUL WHITE
(ONE HANDED MUSIC)

33: JASON FINE
FUTURE THOUGHT
(KONTRA-MUSIK)

32: HILDUR GUDNADÓTTIR
WITHOUT SINKING
(TOUCH)

31: THE VILLAGE ORCHESTRA
I CAN HEAR THE SIRENS SINGING AGAIN
(HIGHPOINT LOWLIFE)

30: HUDSON MOHAWKE
BUTTER
(WARP)

29: LEGOWELT
AMIGA RAILROAD ADVENTURES
(STRANGE LIFE)

28: SILK FLOWERS
SILK FLOWERS
(POST PRESENT MEDIUM)

27: 2562
UNBALANCE
(TECTONIC)

26: CITY CENTER
CITY CENTER
(TYPE)

25: SND
ATAVISM
(RASTER-NOTON)

24: ATLAS SOUND
LOGOS
(4AD)

23: RSD
GOOD ENERGY
(PUNCH DRUNK)

22: DAM-FUNK
TOEACHIZOWN
(STONES THROW)

21: MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO
VERTICAL ASCENT
(HONEST JON'S)

wavves was this year right? pretty awesome how everyone has forgotten about them

^^

I'll bet metal and dance folks won't find much in the AV Club list either.

I voted for a few dance albums but I'll be devoting my January AVC electronic column to a Best of '09 list, and I'm pretty certain Leonard Pierce's Metal Box column will run a year-end list this month.

And yeah I know what you're saying about consensus, etc., but those things will actually be dealt with there.

Is there a link to the Mixmag singles/tracks list? Always like reading those.

not yet, maybe soon: Mixmag Lists
http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mixmag.html

new issue of Mixmag on sale today in the UK
http://twitter.com/Mixmag/statuses/6527494364

details:
http://www.mixmag.net/content/subscribe-mixmag
Free with this month’s issue is Diplo's 2009 Rewind CD looking back at all the biggest tracks of the year including those by Major Lazer, La Roux vs Skream, Boys Noize, The Prodigy, Chase & Status, Fake Blood, Erol Alkan, Laidback Luke, Felix Da Housecat and many more.

wondering if mixmag will plump for waves or death suite

That La Roux/Skream remix feels like it was the biggest track of the year, so I'd be surprised if Mixmag didn't vote it number one.

back to the USA...

Stereogum Best 50 Albums of 2009
http://stereogum.com/gummys/2009/best-album-2009.html

summary via:
http://countmeoutblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/stereogums-top-50-albums-of-2009-gummy.html

50. Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light [Secretly Canadian]
49. Mos Def - The Ecstatic [Downtown]
48. Silversun Pickups - Swoon [Dangerbird]
47. jj - n° 2 [Sincerely Yours]
46. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II [Loud/RCA/BMG]
45. Regina Spektor - Far [Sire]
44. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns [Saddle Creek]
43. Mastodon - Crack The Skye [Reprise]
42. The Dead Weather - Horehound [Third Man]
41. Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures [DGC/Interscope]
40. Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms [Lefse]
39. Brand New - Daisy [Interscope]
38. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle [Drag City]
37. Cymbals Eat Guitars - Why There Are Mountains [Self-Released]
36. The Horrors - Primary Colours [XL]
35. Tegan And Sara - Sainthood [Vapor]
34. Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport [ATP]
33. Florence & The Machine - Lungs [Island]
32. Dinosaur Jr. - Farm [Jagjaguwar]
31. The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come [4AD]
30. Dan Deacon - Bromst [Carpark]
29. Camera Obscura - My Maudlin Career [4AD]
28. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers [Domino]
27. Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young [Cult/RCA]
26. Metric - Fantasies [Metric Music International]
25. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast [Fat Possum]
24. Arctic Monkeys - Humbug [Domino]
23. Monsters Of Folk - Monsters Of Folk [Shangri-La]
22. The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You [Sony]
21. Japandroids - Post-Nothing [Polyvinyl]
20. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart - The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart [Slumberland]
19. Atlas Sound - Logos [Kranky]
18. Wilco - Wilco (The Album) [Nonesuch]
17. Various Artists - Dark Was The Night [4AD]
16. The Decemberists - The Hazards Of Love [Capitol]
15. Bat For Lashes - Two Suns [Astralwerks]
14. Fever Ray - Fever Ray [Mute]
13. Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer [Jagjaguwar]
12. St. Vincent - Actor [4AD]
11. The Flaming Lips - Embryonic [Warner Bros.]
10. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone [Anti-]
09. Passion Pit - Manners [Frenchkiss]
08. The Antlers - Hospice [Frenchkiss]
07. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz [Interscope]
06. Girls - Album [True Panther]
05. The XX - XX [Young Turks/XL]
04. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix [Glassnote]
03. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca [Domino]
02. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest [Warp]
01. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino]

those are voted on by readers iirc

How many lists are gonna be fuckin AnCo, Grizzly Bear, Dirty Pro and Phoenix in different orders?

it's like, are they even aware of other virtually identical lists? does it not make them think to try and make them different? so much for the idea of the death of consenus in critical circles

as Whiney G. Weingarten clarified that Stereogum list is from the Readers, so it's just an aggregated popularity snapshot

SPIN's 40 Best Albums Of 2009

40 Kiss - Sonic Boom
39 Wilco - Wilco (Wilco The Album
38 Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap
37 Gallows - Grey Britain
36 Brakesbrakesbrakes - Touchdown
35 Miike Snow - Miike Snow
34 Mariachi El Bronx - Mariachi El Bronx
33 The Avett Brothers - I And Love And You
32 U2 - No Line On The Horizon
31 Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
30 Julian Casablancas - Phrazes For The Young
29 Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
28 The Flaming Lips - Embryonic
27 Jarvis Cocker - Further Complications
26 The Mountain Goats - The Life Of The World To Come
25 The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love
24 Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg
23 St. Vincent - Actor
22 Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
21 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II
20 Paramore - Brand New Eyes
19 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
18 Antony And The Johnsons - The Crying Light
17 Mastodon - Crack The Skye
16 Japandroids - Post-Nothing
15 Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
14 Amadou & Mariam - Welcome To Mali
13 Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
12 Ida Maria - Fortress Round My Heart
11 Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson - Summer Of Fear
10 The Dead Weather - Horehound
09 Drake - So Far Gone
08 Florence And The Machine - Lungs
07 Mos Def - The Ecstatic
06 Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
05 Girls - Album
04 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
03 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
02 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz!
01 Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion