Top 10 #10: Top 10 Albums of 2009 That I Kind Of Thought About Buying But Then Didn't (Part One)

I didn't buy many albums this year; partly because I had less disposable* income, and partly because I've been unsure whether to buy music on CD or via iTunes (and sometimes indecision = no decision). I used to love the physicality and security of a real CD, but these days I usually listen to music through my computer or iPod, so are CDs still worthwhile? My bookshelf full of CDs still looks nice, but it's not so convenient. A few years ago, my collection of CDs was my personal music library; today, it's just an insurance policy in case of hard drive failure.

(Don't even start me on those horrific CDs with the most hardcore copy protection, the ones that won't even let you copy the music into your iTunes library . . !)

And I never buy DVDs, because I figure that the DVD is already a dead medium; so isn't it past time for me to give up on the CD, too? What do you think?

I've been watching Rage regularly all year, so I've heard & seen the singles from practically every new album release of 2009. A lot of these singles made me want to go buy albums, but I don't always do what I want. Here are the Top 10 Albums of 2009 That I Kind Of Thought About Buying But Then Didn't.

(Note, also: when I say "didn't buy", I don't mean "downloaded illegally". I don't like to do that; and it's not like any of these albums were inaccessible or overpriced or only available via an inconvenient delivery mechanism, such as certain television programs might be said to be, hypothetically speaking. Aside from the music videos, and/or songs freely available on myspace, I haven't actually listened to any of these albums.)

10. The Fiery Furnaces — I'm Going Away

Blueberry Boat, the FF's second album (from 2004), is absolutely brilliant. It's bizarre, it's dense, it's complex, and it's very long. I had to listen to it three times before it actually made sense to me. That might sound like a bad thing, and it usually would be, but not here: it's an album that rewards you for paying attention, for remembering that the melody you're listening to now is an echo of the melody from thirty minutes earlier. It's unique, entertaining, catchy and very, very smart.

So yeah, Blueberry Boat impressed me hugely, to the point that I was kind of obsessed with FF for a while. I even saw them live (and they put on a fantastic live performance, too). But every one of their albums since 2004 has been mediocre by comparison, even after repeated listens and much effort on my part. Widow City (2007) was occasionally excellent, but only occasionally. Bitter Tea was mostly weak. And as for Rehearsing My Choir . . . I mean, I really wanted to love that one. I wanted to enjoy it. I did not.

And that's why I haven't bothered to buy this new album: I've been burnt. The single (above) was good, but not mindblowing. Their most recent album (Widow City) was worthwhile, so I'd like to think that I'm Going Away is another step up, but I'm not willing to wager money on it. Not just yet.

9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs — It's Blitz!

I've always kind of liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, though I've never been a huge fan. But I always thought their songwriting was clever, and this album looked interesting; the singles were pretty good, at least. I'm kind of fascinated by the way they've changed their sound, too. It should seem like they're selling out, the way they've changed from punky-spiky-00s-rock into an 80s synth-underground feel – it's like a rebranding from one zeitgeist to the next, *cynicism* – but somehow, it just doesn't seem like a sell-out. Their new songs are good, and surprisingly subtle. Their new sound isn't a bland pop makeover. It's worth listening to.

But I actually haven't bought it yet.

8. Crystal Antlers — Tentacles

Intriguing mix of psych-ish music under really grungey, 80s-punk vocals. (I really love the vocals – guy's got an awesome voice.) This single is probably their least impressive song, I think, but some of their stuff available elsewhere is pretty spectacular. Also, I'm building a collection of albums by cool bands with the word "Crystal" in their name.

7. Golden Silvers — True Romance

The vocals are so English that it's almost distracting; together with the early-80s everything else, they obviously wish they were guesting on The Young Ones. But the more I hear of these guys, the more impressed I am by their pop songwriting & arrangement chops. It's really excellent stuff – the kind of clever, retro-but-not-pointless pop that only England ever seems to produce (see also, Mystery Jets). Damn fine. Even if I don't get a copy of their album this year, I'm sure I haven't heard the last of them.

6. Arctic Monkeys — Humbug

Arctic Monkeys had such a meteoric rise to fame, and were so damn young and pretty, that their passage through the NME meatgrinder-of-adulation very quickly became the sausage of hipsters' casual dismissal. But they don't deserve to be dismissed: the original fame & adulation was well deserved, because their music at its best is absolutely excellent. Their first two albums were simply great. I haven't bought this third album yet, but I know I will eventually; if it's not also great, I'll be very surprised.

Gosh, there are more words on this list than I thought there'd be! I guess I have more to say about these albums than I thought I would. I'm going to have to split this post in two.

Back soon, with the top half of the Top 10!

(And don't worry, btw – the other Top Ten Top Tens will involve far fewer words than this, I promise :)

*all income is disposable

Rage Roundup @ March 13, 2009

Woo! Friday the 13th Rage! Except that Rage didn't start 'til after midnight, so perhaps you would prefer it "Saturday the 14th Rage." Hooray for accuracy.

(btw, that new Friday the 13th movie? By far, it is the best Friday the 13th movie yet created. Yes, even better than Part 2. I should probably devote an entire post to the subject, that's how much I have to say about it...)

Nevertheless: music videos, lately shown on Rage. Words in relation to, etc.

Zero — Yeah Yeah Yeahs

I have always thought of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with much affection. This new single is quite a change for them, tho: in the past they've worked hard to establish their own guitar-drums-punk-trio-stick-it-to-the-man image & sound... and now, they've come out with a piece of arena synth-rock, techno-fied drum sound and all. (Altho: "fucking with expectations, that's the 

real punk," etc...)

So anyhow it'd be real easy to bash them here for selling out, to see them jumping onto another 80s zeitbandwagongeist like so many others have. As soon as I heard the synths, that's what I was expecting I'd want to do. However, by the end of the song, I guess my affection remains undimmed. The synth riff that anchors the chorus is genuinely great, and the ingredient that always raised YYYs above the rest – Karen O's voice – remains as passionate and compelling as ever. This is a mighty fine song, I think. If you must play with 80s sounds, kudos for making something fairly new & interesting & cool out of it. (As opposed to, say, this.)

The video is nice enough, too: a very pretty wander thru a rainy, neon San Francisco night. (You could probably draw a mild philosophical statement out of the video, if you wanted, something about being a flâneuse and the dérive and life-as-performance, but we really don't have to.)

Nice stuff. And now I'm curious as hell about the rest of their new album, so I guess the Mission of this single is Accomplished.

Wanted — Tennis

Another little indie band with a neat band name. (& speaking of reminders of which, did you ever hear of Tenniscoats? An even better band name, but no relation so far as I can tell...)

These guys have a really great sound: unlike a lot of other indie groups, they incorporate a tasteful taste of synth without detracting from a crisp guitar-&-drums sound. The lovely clear production helps a lot, here. In fact the song is well-arranged all over (dig the intro!), balancing tension at every point without resort to obvious soft/loud dynamics. The icing is the vocal performance: the singer has an intriguing edge of croon to his voice, and he lends some real depth to the melody. Tennis are something to watch out for, I think.

Skeleton Boy — Friendly Fires

Like their last single, Paris – a breakout hit for them, that one was – there's something really good here but I'm not quite feeling it yet. (I like this one a lot more than I liked Paris, tho...) The verse is excellent, and the sequence leading from the bridge into the climactic final chorus is great too, but the chorus itself never quite fits, for me... as with the very end of the track, it's something that just trails off into an emotional "wuh." I feel like it wants to be more, like it needs a better punch to it – just a little more uplifting, or defiant? The final chorus is the closest to what I'm thinking of, when they slam it thru some dramatic arrangement cutouts. But even then, it fails to end well... so, hurm. What do you think?

The video itself is decent – even if it's pretty obvious, given a title like "Skeleton Boy," to decide to play around with a white-markings-over-black-bodysuits visual. The blizzard of white snowlike particles is a nice new spin on the technique, tho. It's a visual idea that somebody could really go somewhere with, I think...

Dreary Day — Renee Cassar

Why do I find this one so compelling? Is it just the recognition value of the clip, which apes the basement sequences from That '70s Show (& does so more-or-less perfectly, too)? Is it the charisma of Cassar herself, who shows more personality & basic acting chops in this video than most singers ever do? I'm still not entirely sure if I really like the music or not, but man... I guess it must be the song. Sure: it is a nice song. The jaunty arrangement balances the melancholy of the melody, there's a nice wash of occasional oldtimey piano; it's pleasant, that's for sure. It's vaguely off-putting that she sings in a dopey faux-American accent when she's Australian, but her voice is quite nice otherwise. If she stays on this side of the country-pop-crossover divide, Cassar might have some really worthwhile music up her sleeve. Clearly, I'm going to have to start paying more attention.

No One's Better Sake — Little Joy

Great 70s-animate visuals (it remembers the Sesame 12!, a little). Odd little piece – the music is some kind of quasi-folk jam-band indie reggae, but the slackertone bad-mic vocal makes it sound like The Strokes have lost their angst & escaped to a 1960s harmonic Jamaica. Lovely organ sound & a lovely little tune all over.

Q & A — Death Mattel

Hey, they're back! Or here for the first time, or something. I heard a track by these guys a couple of years ago on a Mess+Noise cd, and I've never forgotten their name: "Death Mattel" is an absolutely excellent pun. I hope we can all agree on this point.

So I remembered their name, but one old track wasn't much for me to go on, as far as recalling their sound... but never mind, because here's a whole new song. And memorable, this one – this is very interesting. It might benefit from a little more dynamic variation, but the unique mix of vocal & musical styles provokes interest all by itself. There's some guitar-drum interplay that's genuinely heavy (almost industrial in parts), dual vocals that roll from metallic acidthroat into indie singsong... it reminds me a little of early-mid Pixies, but it's not really like that. For one thing, there's a synthy, 80s edge to the cheap production sound (especially on the drums) that locates this more deeply in 00s underground. Also, check out the transition around the one minute mark – very few bands are willing to subvert your generic expectations like that. And what makes Death Mattel really interesting is the musical skill they're displaying with that transition: they pull an audacious move like that, and I think they actually make it work.

Take a listen! Every little band like this, willing to make sound that's as different as this is, deserves a wholehearted Right On. Right?

Or maybe I'm just bored, and I'm being a wanker and starting to privilege novelty over quality. Your opinions on this point are welcome.

Thanks! Until next time –

--the Musical Thoapsl