What are your favorites so far?

Mine:

Yeah Yeah Yeah's- It's Blitz
Brother Ali- The Truth Is Here
Lily Allen- It's Not Me It's You
Kelly Clarkson- All I Ever Wanted
M. Ward- Hold Time

There hasn't been a great album this year from what I've listened to but all of those are good albums.

How many posts can we go before someone mentions ____________ ____ _________?

Merriweather post pavillion...lol..damn! did I spoil the fun...

kelly clarkson? roflmao. ban this know nothing please.

Lily Allen? Kelly Clarkson?
I thought you guys were cool

Antony's "The Crying Light" and The Dream's "Love vs. Money" are the only two great records i've heard so far this year

Animal Collective, Orelsan, School of Seven Bells (only released in France this year), Eagles of Death Metal (same thing but well, I had listened to it in 2008) and Fever Ray for me so far.

I've only heard two albums this year- Antony and the Johnsons' The Crying Light and Franz Ferdinand's Tonight. Both are decent, but I still haven't been gobsmacked by anything yet.

There are some contenders (for me anyway) coming out soon:

Prince- LotusFlower
Prince- MPLSoUND
Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz
Bat for Lashes- Two Suns

I still have to pick up the new Morrissey album as well.

Antony's The Crying Light
But I only heard 4 records so far

YYY's is already out isn't it? I dl'ed it on my Napster subscription plan last week.

You only hate Lily Allen because she's on TMZ all the time and is on all the entertainment shows. She put out a good album in 06 and once she got big people turned their backs on her. She's better than at least 90% of all American male songwriters out there. A least she can carry a tune.

I've heard the Lily Allen album because my wife has it. It's her personality that turns me off more than the music, in all honesty! "The Fear" is a great song, though!

YYY's doesn't come out here in Australia until April 3rd.

There's 14 songs on the Kelly Clarkson album, and she represents 6 out of the 36 writing credits on it.

I don't know what's worse -- that she had 1/6th of the say in terms of the album's content, OR... that it took 22 different people to write it.

I don't look too much at the writing credits when it comes to pop music. If it sounds good, it's good. The Clarkson album is way too long but it has some pretty good moments. I wouldn't give it anything more than a 6/10 but that's an ok rating in my book. Some people toss away pop music... I don't know if that's because it's all over the radio or if all of their music has to be meaningful and artsy... I know I couldn't handle all of my music being that way and that's why it's refreshing when a good pop album comes along which usually is only a couple times a year unfortunately.

Favorites so far:
M. Ward
Franz Ferdinand
Anni Rossi (If you like Joanna Newsom, check her out)
Fourth I'd put Animal Collective

On the Kelly Clarkson debate, I like her new album just as much as Bruce's or U2's. Maybe that's damning with faint praise.

Animal Collective - MPP
M Ward - Hold Time
PPP - Abundance
Morrissey - Years Of Refusal
Here We Go Magic - s/t
Alela Diane - To Be Still
Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

I haven't been impressed by any album this year other than MPP, which I think is amazing. I mean the Antony album was good and I still have to liste nto Franz Ferdinand, but mpp is imo far and away the best album released so far.

I can agree with you on one point, John -- that it's important to have variety in the music a person listens to, but I disagree that it should take an album or two of commercial fluff to strike that balance. All music doesn't have to be artful, but it sure as heck ought to be meaningful or at least have some merit, otherwise it's kinda pointless listening to it.

I dunno... I guess I come from the school where it's not enough for an album to merely "sound good" as the sole basis for enjoyment. For me, there needs to be more.

My thoughts on pop stars that don't write their own stuff:

If the music sounds good but the performer wasn't even remotely creatively involved, I can say "That's a good song, and I give all the credit to the writers and producers because the actual performer was interchangeable."

The thing is though, most songs bought from professional songwriters then recorded by pop icons have the following attributes:

-No effort put into verse, verses only there to fill time between catchy choruses
-No real instrumentation, just a bunch of loops turned way down to fill time between singing
-Very generic, market researched emotions

There are exceptions, but most pop songs are just a good chorus with nothing else to offer and impossible to connect to.

Exactly.

Yeah, I agree that it's impossible to connect to mainstream pop music but I don't feel the need to connect to every song/album. Sometimes music is just fun and I don't need to feel a personal connection to it. The problem is, and I think this is why people are so turned off to mainstream pop, is that so much of it exists that it's hard to even want to try to enjoy what is actually good. Same thing goes for music that is actually organic but I understand that it's a lot more satisfying to try to weed out that.

I don't think the singer is interchangeable. There's a reason why only a couple pop albums a year strike a chord with me and it's not because of the writers. Those same writers write a ton of songs that I don't like at all. Pop music really is all about singers making songs written by other people their own and I think Kelly Clarkson does a great job of interpreting other people's work.

There are much worse pop "fluff" than Clarkson. She released a solid mainstream album.

Wouldn't include her in my faves of the year though, which include:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Animal Collective
Antony and the Johnsons
The-Dream
DM Stith

Haven't heard yet but would possibly have made it since I love the artist:

Morrissey
Robyn Hitchcock

Oh yeah, and Neko Case is in my favorites.

I heard a very few albums but my favorite is Fever Ray so far.

Regina
Fever Ray
DM Stith
Color Cassette
Animal Collective
Antony

I've been mostly (re)listening to albums from 70's but I have heard full 17 albums from 2009 so far.

"Some people toss away pop music... I don't know if that's because it's all over the radio or if all of their music has to be meaningful and artsy..."

Much as I love the Beatles (and SGT. PEPPER) I blame SGT. PEPPER for everyone thinking an album should have "something to say". Put me in the camp that says I don't necessarily think the average dude with a guitar and an amp is any smarter than me. Nothing wrong with a song that "sounds good" in my book. But then again I almost never listen to an album straight through anyway...it's usually the MP3 player on shuffle.

1-Animal Collective
2-Antony & J.
3-Malajube (local choice for me)
4-Franz Ferdinand

Highlights so far: Antony & the Johnsons, Neko Case and Mark Olson & Gary Louris.

But that last album is probably 2008 (according to RYM it's 2009, but nicolas already bought it in 2008, in France).

Music doesn't always have to appeal to the head, guys. It can appeal to the heart or to the feet and be just as "meaningful".

if it sounds good, listen to it... i didn't think there was anything more to it?

so far i haven't bought a single 2009 album. i'm trying to collect the whole AM top 200, which obviously does not yet include anything from 2009. being a year behind honestly doesn't bother me at all.

Some of my favorites so far:

Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
P.O.S. - Never Better
A.C. Newman - Get Guilty
Metric - Fantasies
The Thermals - Now We Can See
Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You
Dan Deacon - Bromst
Dark Was The Night Compilation

On a site that's really about the greatest music -- the most artful and self-expressive -- it's legitimately surprising (off-putting?) to see this many endorsements of music that isn't.

(And I think this sentiment is what the above poster, Mike, was trying to convey.)

Without intending to offend, I think the "if it sounds good, listen to it" mentality is somewhat juvenile and superficial. It's what perpetually keeps empty, mindless pop music on the charts. Of course, a little bit of mindless entertainment is ok every now and then (heck, I'll admit to enjoying a Nic Cage movie from time to time), but I think it's important to acknowledge that type of music -- for example, the Kelly Clarkson album -- however delicious of ear-candy it might be, is not "good" music. Some sort of distinction needs to be made I think.

I was thinking about this debate at work today, and I remembered that Michelle Branch song, "Breathe", from a few years back. I think that song perfectly illustrates the points that BillAdama made earlier. No effort put into verse (verses are only the vehicle for catchy choruses)? Check. No real instrumentation? Check. Very generic, market researched emotions. Check. Yet, how many people here enjoy that song? Sure, it's catchy as fuck, but there's nothing behind it.

I think the catchy chorus, for as much we love it, might just be one of the worst things to ever happen to music.

I think that's exactly the kind of snobbery that makes places like RateYourMusic an absolute bore. I'm sorry, Liam, but you can tell me "Can't Get You Out of My Head" by Kylie Minogue isn't good music, but I'll never agree with you. You can call my taste into question if you like (many have!), but to completely dismiss a genre or style like that goes against what this website and this forum celebrates.

Yes, there are some fantastic artists out there who don't get nearly the mainstream exposure, acceptance and respect as they deserve. I can totally get behind that sentiment. However, the reverse is often true of music forums- good music can be derided for simply having the audacity to be popular.

Well said Moonbeam. A true music lover listens to everything and doesn't discriminate until they actually hear the music. I'm a harsh critic, rarely does an album get even 4/5 stars from me, but I never judge from just seeing the genre or artist. I never liked Britney Spears for example and I loved Blackout... Circus came out and I didn't like that. You have to listen to everything to catch that album that surprises you.

I personally don't consider it amazing, but I wouldn't call "Can't Get You Out of My Head" a bad song. It's catchy without relying on a formulaic verse-prechorus-chorus (lather, rinse, repeat) structure. It's just not your standard pop music fare.

The "bad" stuff I'm talking about are your Nickelbacks and Kelly Clarksons of the world -- the non-artists who find a commercial formula, stick to it, and sell millions of records. Their popularity is reason enough to not grant the public much credit when it comes to taste in art.

I imagine this entire conversation could've been avoided if John had only written:

Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted (guilty pleasure)

Or maybe it's my fault for misconstruing "favorite" as "best" -- as if he was putting Ms. C along side the likes of the Beatles and Elliott Smith.

Why does it have to be a guilty pleasure? Don't get me wrong- I don't like Kelly Clarkson (or anything that has come out of the Idol franchise), and Nickelback is a disgrace to my ears. However, I'm not going to find fault with someone who is passionate about music (as everyone on this site is). Heck, I count Roxette as one of my top 30 artists! I agree that the mainstream public underrepresents a lot of different genres and doesn't give many deserving artists a chance. However, I think that has more to do with the fact that most people aren't as passionate about music as members of this forum (and others). There are a lot of casual music fans who only want to listen to what's on the radio, and that's the crowd to which a lot of pop music caters.

Funny, as I was reading that, "Hotblooded" by Roxette was playing. No joke. (Even though I consider Per Gessle to be a fantastic songwriter, it's still a guilty pleasure for me. Just not a band that I'd bring up in casual conversation.)

I think there's a difference between being passionate about music and being intelligent about it. The guy with his headphones on, who air-drums at the bus-stop every morning as I drive to work, HE'S passionate. But I probably wouldn't care to talk to him (or anyone else for that matter who isn't conscious of how they present themselves in public) about music.

How did you get from "completely dismiss a genre or style" to "I don't like anything that has come out of the Idol franchise"?

We'll just have to agree to disagree, Ian. It's good to have a bit of polarized opinion on these forums.

It's ok to disagree, Liam. I suppose the difference in my statements might be that I wouldn't say that everything to come out of the Idol franchise is necessarily "bad music". I just don't like any of it, perhaps partly because I have ethical issues with that show.

My opinion is that music provides us all with such subjective experiences that it makes the concept of "being intelligent about it" very hard to define. That statement suggests that there is a correct way and an incorrect way to view/discuss/appreciate/hear music, and I don't buy it. My own definition (feel free to disagree!) of intelligent music conversation has a lot less to do with the opinion that someone holds and more to do with how it's expressed. I understand that the music industry is not a fair playing field, and that there exist vast differences in technical proficiency, studio experimentation, vision and talent. However, I just feel that not all music has to feature all of that to be inherently valuable.

Hey, well said.

And it sounds like we share a similar opinion on American Idol... but that's an entirely different can o' worms.

ugh. liam, do you know jean-marck? you guys would get along great.

ok, where to start?

nic cage. one of the best american actors of the past 20 years and, ironically, probably the best person to disprove your point - someone who is subversive and individual within the studio system. why do you think he's working with werner herzog now? on the auteurist note, what do you do with directors like hitchcock, hawks, scorsese, tarantino, etc. - are they great in spite of the fact that they work for the studios or because of it?

which leads me to...formulas. unfairly derided. a formula, as a defined, restricted structure, can be as artistically liberating as it can be suffocating. consider the 12-bar blues, 69 love songs, sonnets, and "yo mama" jokes. my greatest respect goes to artists who can bend the formulas without breaking them (anyone can do that, it's the easiest thing in the world - just as easy as mindlessly adhering to them). formulas have a rich history - they didn't arrive ex nihilo, but have been shaped and created over time (and continue to be). think of wine production - it's an ancient art. and i don't exactly want someone to come along with some utterly new and creative way of making wine (or beer or scotch) that radically reinvents the formula - it'll probably taste like shit.

one of the best albums i've heard this year is currently #2 on billboard. does that make me a retard? (i really don't care if you think it does) scan the rest of the top 50 and you'll find plenty of other acclaimed artists (neko case, weezy, springsteen, van morrison, etc.) if you want to make a distinction between art and entertainment (or whatever), go ahead and do it. and good luck.

oddly, we have the same top 2 in this week's moderately acclaimed music poll!

and hey, what the hell's wrong with playing air-drums?!?!

"Yes, there are some fantastic artists out there who don't get nearly the mainstream exposure, acceptance and respect as they deserve. I can totally get behind that sentiment. However, the reverse is often true of music forums- good music can be derided for simply having the audacity to be popular."

This encapsulates what I would have said better than I could. So many embrace the philosophy "Just because it isn't popular doesn't mean it's not good" but fail to embrace its corollary which is "The mere fact of a song's popularity isn't evidence of its mediocrity."

Many songs I think of as "great songs" really can only be defended in terms of "sounds good". Honestly, is "Louie Louie" REALLY a great lyric?

" This encapsulates what I would have said better than I could. So many embrace the philosophy "Just because it isn't popular doesn't mean it's not good" but fail to embrace its corollary which is "The mere fact of a song's popularity isn't evidence of its mediocrity." "

I think the AM list proves that, despite what we might think, many critics think that way. Just look the top 50 songs of the 00s you will find Madonna, Outkast, Britney, Kylie, Beyoncé, Eminem, Kelly Clarkson... all pretty popular.
And the Pitchfork 500 was really good in that way, mixing big success with mostly unknown artists.

liam, do you know jean-marck? you guys would get along great.

ugh, come on, Greg, that's a bit too harsh.

back to topic >> a few additions that're
ticklin' nj's auditive placenta so far:

_Fruit. The Asteroids Galaxy Tour
_Skin Of Evil. Blackout Beach
_Tentacles. Crystal Antlers
_Radio. Exile
_Here We Go Magic
_Idle Forest Of Chit Chat. Kinny
_The Floodlight Collective. Lotus Plaza
_All Aboard Future. These Are Powers
_Spirit Animal. Zombi (bully..)

while the new SFA and Alva Noto ones keep growing..

..and @Rocky:
Anni Rossi's Ace Of Base cover
on Rockwell is amazing..
which fits perfectly as my two cents contribution
in the "invalidity" of common pop songs_debate

Hi netjade,

as usual your list is as excentric / interesting as unknown: I don't know any of these albums (yet)!

Have to check out the album of Asteroids Galaxy Tour, after all I did nominate one of their songs lately ...

I didn't forget that, Andre ...and I guess you're not unwilling to back me when I strongly recommend Moonbeam to follow my/our(?) advice to get/listen to this little(?) Danish psychpop gem as soon as possible..?

Oh, I will definitely try to sneak a peek!

Oooh! I remember "Around the Bend" from the recommendations thread for 2008! Loved it, but lost track of the artist! I'll have to check out some other songs. It seems like the album doesn't come out until May, though. I'll definitely keep an eye out, however!

yazzyazz, trai eet.. yu voand reggrredit, zsun..

I liked "The Sun Ain't Shining No More" too! I'm definitely gonna have to keep an eye out. Definitely won't regret it.

Definitely not...

btw: sorry to ask that question, but was it actually you who recently mentionend the egg shell misconception on listverse?? just curious.. nj

Hey Moonbeam, did you know that 2009 is gonna be a very good fruit year? Especially Danish fruit.

Fruit ... I tell you, we need more fruit!

Believe me, it's good for you ...

Now how does that suite you, Moonbeam... haha..

I meant... how does it fruit you, of course...

Moonbeam???

If the fruit tastes like those 2 songs, well, color me fruity!

And nj, that's not me on listverse. I've avoided that site because I fear that it might suck up all my free time, the list addict that I am.

Sounds like you two had a well-deserved fantastic time. I feel that I could definitely be great friends with many of you here if we met up in real life.

Erm, wrong thread!

135. Moonbeam - March 24th, 2009 at 12:09 pm

I’m not sure if this fits the topic exactly, but how about “Walking on eggshells?” I believe the correct expression is “Walking on eggs.” If the eggs are already broken as in “eggshells”, then one doesn’t need to be carefull. Sir John Harington, translating Ariosto’s ‘Orlando Furioso’ from Italian in 1591, wrote: “So soft he treds. As though to tread on eggs he were afraid.” From “Dictionary of Cliches” by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985).


... just in case.

Yes, nj, that Anni Rossi cover of Ace of Base is surprisingly good. I didn't even recognize it the first couple of times I heard it. Gonna listen to it now.

no one does POP better than the Sweeds.

The Sweeds? Were they an obscure glam rock band?

hardly. but they did pretty well in Reggae Soft Thrash covers..

I meant Sweedish :-) People mentioned thinking American Idol was manufactured generic fluff. That's not the case this year because the lead singer of Go Betty Go, the famous all girl Latin punk group, has made the top 10. Go Betty Go are as far from generic as you can get. You don't see very many all grrrl punk groups using Spanglish in their lyrics.

The really sad news I've been hearing is the new Klaxons is going to be really watered down because their record label keeps asking them to change their sound to something more pop friendly. They've been signed to a major record label but the record company is pretty much controlling their every move. They had so much potential too :-(

Oh American Idol will try to strip away what makes her unique, then.

I think she got the boot from Idol quite awhile ago. I know she's not in the top 10.

Gotta add (of course) Prince's LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND to my list!

Enjoy these clips from Prince's 3 nights of performances on Jay Leno while they're still up!

Do you think he's channeling Hendrix on "Dreamer"?



Vintage Prince here as well on "Ol' Skool Company":

Decemberists- Hazards of Love is the best new album in at least 4-5 years. I don't get the mediocre reviews it's received.

I've got to add a few albums to my list:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz
Bat for Lashes- Two Suns

There's way less good mainstream now though than there was even ten years ago. I think Tragic Kingdom, Sheryl Crow s/t, and Jagged Little Pill were all really good albums. Plus back then there were a handful of legitimately good post-grunge bands still producing.

The attitude of the record industry to music has just changed. They don't care about the concept of 'band' anymore. They've effectively separated 'performer' and 'artist'. They used to think 'Let's find talented people and make them icons'. Now they think 'Let's make icons, we can supply the talent later.'

Though, I'm often forced to listen to pop radio all day at work, and whenever Kelly Clarkson comes on I think "Whew". Because the alternatives are Fergie and Colbie Callait. She's absolutely one of the best pop singers right now.

2009 seems to be very promising musically- for me at least. I've already got a solid list of 6 albums I really enjoy this year, with many more waiting in the wings. I thought it would be nice to check out some other songs/albums as recommended by the diverse fount of knowledge that is this forum!

So post your favorite album(s), song(s), vid(s), etc.

Here are my lists:

Songs:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- "Zero"

An absolutely triumphant, conquer-the-world kind of song that never fails to make me erupt into bouts of spastic dancing. Need an emotional boost? Try this! The long, bubbling intro of jittery electro goodness really builds up the tension and is maintained through two verses and choruses before an absolutely glorious guitar scorches through the mix and sends this song soaring to such delirious heights.

Enjoy!

Bat for Lashes- "Daniel"

Finally! A pop song with the audacity to have subtlety and atmosphere! Beautifully arranged and sung, with background vocals and lyrics that just resonate with the memory of the halcyon days of first loves, nostalgic glimpses of home and coming of age. It's also deceptively catchy! Add to that a visually delicious video, and the song's a classic in my book.

Albums:

Franz Ferdinand- Tonight: I was so amazed by their debut album 5 years ago that I obsessively collected all of their singles. My enthusiasm waned a bit over the past few years, however, but I picked up their new album because I liked the first single "Ulysses". I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity and risk-taking of the album. Sure, it's got the huge, riffy pop numbers ("No You Girls" being the most notable), but the sharp curves of songs like "Lucid Dreams", "Send Him Away" and "Twilight Omens" make this album more than a mere rehash to get their name back on the scene.

Antony and the Johnsons- The Crying Light: "The Dull Flame of Desire" made me realize that I could like Antony's music, and "Blind" confirmed it. I picked this up along with I Am a Bird Now, and the hushed, bruised soul that emanates from it is just enchanting.

Prince- LotusFlow3r: I'll always check out what ol' Princey is up to, and I'm reminded why I love him with each new album. There's a lot to love about this, from the quirky avenues of "Boom", "Love Like Jazz" and "$", to the more thoughtful yet rocking "Colonized Mind" and "Dreamer". It's the guitar album Prince fans have been pining for, and it is remarkably fresh.

Prince- MPLSoUND: I feared that I would loathe it based on the first 2 songs posted on his website, but I was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the album picked up greatly. "Dance 4 Me" is laden with multiple layers of delicious grooves, while "Here" is Prince's best love-ballad in ages. "Valentina" sees Prince get away with lyrics that only he could and showcases his badass side without annoyingly announcing it as the first 2 tracks do. "Ol' Skool Company" may be ranty, but it's still a blast, and "No More Candy 4 U" makes me giddy every time I hear it, as I never thought I'd again hear that wild, raucous, egomanical-in-a-fun-way and hyper rockabilly complete with screaming that made me LOVE Prince circa 1981.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz: Karen O would be an icon if this band was around 15 years ago, as she has the chutzpah, depth and charisma that stars should have. With this new album, they court the pop/electro audience. While I definitely am part of that audience, I would normally be wary that such a motivation would coincide with a huge dropoff in quality, but the band has successfully transmuted the spirit and energy of their more classic material into a really, really great pop album.

Bat for Lashes- Two Suns: Fur and Gold was an alluring debut, to be sure, but it didn't make me a megafan or anything. However, this new album announces her as the heir apparent to the likes of Björk, Tori Amos and Kate Bush. Her beautiful vocals and musical chops (I was amazed by how many instruments she plays as listed in the credits) fuse these 11 beautiful songs with a sacred aura, and I'm lapping it up.

I still have to pick up Morrissey's new album (bad Ian!), and with more on the way from LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz, Annie, Depeche Mode and others, it's shaping up to be an excellent year!

* Morrissey 'Years of Refusal'
* Lily Allen 'It's Not Me, It's You'
* Yeah Yeah Teahs 'It's Blitz!'
Antony and the Johnsons 'The Crying Light'

Looking forward to Christina Aguilera's new album. To me it's interesting due to the fact that she's working with Ladytron and Sía, whom I'm a huge fan of.

haven't listened to a whole lot of 09 stuff yet, but so far i like

Franz Ferdinand - Tonight: I like it more than their other two releases, the synths work great.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz: Zero hit me immediately, the rest of the album needed a couple listens, its pretty awesome.

havent been mentioned yet:

Black Lips - 200 Million Thousand: its a fun, long, hazy summer album...a bunch of songs sound like they were made a couple decades ago and have just been laying around somewhere, but in a good way, not a tiresome rehash way.

The Breeders - Fate to Fatal EP: i like pretty much everything they record, so im biased...theres a cool song with Mark Lanegan on lead vocals and the titular song kicks ass

To me it's Antony so far

It's been a pretty weak year for me so far. There haven't been any albums I've listened to so far that I've even thought were great, let alone Top 100/200 worthy. The songs haven't been too great either, but Song of the Year (so far) is Bat For Lashes' "Daniel".

April was a great month for music with the releases of Super Furry Animals, Bat for Lashes, Camera Obscura and Doves. I know we'd rather hear good music from newer bands but so many older groups are still putting out great stuff.

My Top 20 Songs of the Year So Far. It's been a pretty weak year in my opinion.

20.) Trey Parker and Matt Stone - "Gay Fish"
19.) Franz Ferdinand - "No You Girls"
18.) The Dream - "Rockin' That Thing"
17.) Kings of Leon - "Use Somebody"
16.) Peter Bjorn and John - "Nothing to Worry About"
15.) Lady Gaga - "Poker Face" [2008]
14.) Bon Iver - "Blood Bank"
13.) T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake - "Dead and Gone"
12.) Bruce Springsteen - "The Wrestler" [2008]
11.) Franz Ferdinand - "Ulysses"
10.) The Lonely Island - "Jizz in My Pants" [2008]
9.) Yeah Yeah Yeah - "Zero"
8.) The Lonely Island feat. T-Pain - "I'm on a Boat"
7.) Bat For Lashes - "Daniel"
6.) Keri Hillson feat. Lil Wayne - "Turnin' Me On"
5.) Morrissey - "I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris"
4.) Kid Cuti - "Day N' Nite" [2008]
3.) Bruce Springsteen - "Working on a Dream" [2008]
2.) Lady Gaga - "Just Dance" [2008]
1.) Animal Collective - "My Girls"

Yeah, thanks to Moonbeam for that recommendation.

I think it has been a OK 2009 so far. There are still very few albums that i really have fallen for, but there are quite a number of good songs. Here is a few songs i have enjoy so far.

Camera Obscura - French Navy
Little Boots - New in town
Yeah yeah yeahs - Skeletons
Fever Ray - If I had a heart
Jenny Wilson - Clattering Hooves
Loney, Dear - Everything turns to you
Bat for Lashes - Daniel
Animal collective - My girls
Peter, Bjorn and John - It Don´t move me
The New Pornographers - Hey, Snow white
Joker's Daughter - Nothing is ever what it seems
Polly Scattergood - Untiteled 27
El perro del mar - A change of heart

It Has been a strong year for the ladies so far.

Anyone here Sonic Youth's The Eternal Yet?

Its really fun and accessible, it reminds me a little bit of Dirty but with less filler. And I think the album flows better than Rather Ripped.

Are there any other AMF Sonic Youth fans?

The Eternal is better than Rather Ripped, but it's also just a retread of their earlier stuff. Not necessarily a bad thing, but nothing to get excited about.

My current faves of 2009:
1) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion 44.60
2) Bruce Peninsula - A Mountain Is A Mouth 36.37
3) Bob Dylan - Together Through Life 30.01
4) The Horrors - Primary Colours 30.01
5) St. Vincent - Actor 30.01
6) Alela Diane - To Be Still 26.06
7) Sunn 0))) - Monoliths & Dimensions 22.97
8) Fever Ray - Fever Ray 19.74
9) Marissa Nadler - Little Hells 19.31
10) PPP - Abundance 18.34

(Yeah. I've got *everything* plugged into the algorithm. I'm a dork!)

I'm a dork too, then, BillAdama!

Albums:

1. Bat for Lashes- Two Suns 72.94
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz 71.01
3. Prince- LotusFlower 64.58
4. Peaches- I Feel Cream 60.30
5. Franz Ferdinand- Tonight 52.67

Songs:

1. Bat for Lashes- "Daniel" 75.90
2. Annie- "Anthonio" 75.52
3. Yeah Yeah Yeahs- "Zero" 74.18
4. Prince- "Dance 4 Me" 71.94
5. Prince- "No More Candy 4 U" 70.88

We're at the half way mark, and so far my T5s

Albums
1. Animcal Collective - Merrieather Post Pavillion (just outside my T50)
2. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
3. Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
5. Dirty Projecters - Bitte Orca

Songs
1. Animal Collective - My Girls
2. Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes
3. Animal Collective - Brother Sport
4. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
5. Bat For Lashes - Daniel
6. Asher Roth - I Love College (it's true!)

Unfortunately, other than Merriweather, nothing has made a big impression on me. MPP may be in my decades T5, but I don't think Veckatimest scratches the T20.

Still Fever Ray for me, by far.
MPP comes second.
3rd place might go to Orelsan or Dan Auerbach (or Schools of Seven Bells if I take French release dates into account)

Still a few albums left to listen (I like the few songs of Bat for Lashes I've heard so far and I'm puzzled by the Horrors)

I probably need to listen to a bit more new stuff (haven't heard too much), but this is shaping up to be a very weak year for me. I haven't even heard any album that I've really liked (start to finish) yet, and the songs have just been ok. By far the worst year of the decade so far. Of course, maybe I've been spoiled considering I loved 2007 and 2008...

Still in the process of checking some things out, but so far...

1. Mulate Astatke/Heliocentrics - Inspiration Information
2. Sunn 0))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
3. Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra - Take Off!
4. James Blackshaw - The Glass Bead Game
5. NOMO - Invisible Cities
6. Exile - Radio
7. Bat for Lashes - Two Suns
8. Fever Ray - Fever Ray
9. Group Bombino - Guitars from Agadez, Vol. 2
10. Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years
11. Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Still need to hear Oumou Sangare, Caetano Veloso, Sonic Youth, J Dilla, City Center, Dirty Projectors, Thee Oh Sees, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Boredoms, and Isis, amongst others.

The Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective albums are both very good, with several excellent tracks, but not quite consistent enough to make my Top 11.

Dylan and Springsteen were overall disappointments, but also have their moments.

I still have to listen a lot of 2009 music, but so far (and with a considerable distance) my favourite album is M. WARD “Hold Time”, a splendid album who deserves more than any other the qualification of “timeless”. Three samples: the dreamy Hold Time, the delicious Buddy Holly cover Rave On and the (as the RYM reviewer said) “lost ELO-produced Beach Boys rarity” To Save Me.

And a very different recommendation: Telepathe with So Fine. Moonbeam, probably you’ll like this one. Girls and synth-pop! Sound quite Moonbemian.

I'm trying to catch up with 2009 today and I found a bunch that I think I'm going to enjoy and a couple that I listened to that I really like.

Regina Spektor- Far: I love this album, it's one of my favorites of 2009. Probably 3rd after Decemberists and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Boston Spaceships- Planets are Blasted: I kept putting this off but I'm sure I'll love it. On just a skim through it feels like the closest Pollard's ever been to GBV.

Passion Pit- Manners: I've heard this on the radio a lot and am looking forward to listening to the full album

Some more that have a good chance of being in my top 10 just from a quick listen:

Black Moth Super Rainbow- Eating Us
Florence and the Machine- Lungs
Great Lake Swimmers- Lost Channels
Bird and the Bee- Ray Guns are Not the Future

La Roux - La Roux
White Lies - To Lose My Life...
Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum (not very cool I know, but it's got a couple of great lead songs)

I only have 4 albums so far, but here's how I'd rank them.

AC - MPP 4.5 stars
Dinosaur Jr. - Farm 4.5 stars
The Antlers - Hospice 4 stars
Wilco - Wilco 3.5 stars

I like that Staff Benda Bilili album.

I still hear "Kids" by MGMT a good amount. What are the chances that it makes the end of year lists like "Paper Planes" did last year?

i do believe it made #5 last year in the song list

Oh, and the new Malcolm Middleton album is very good. Waxing Gibbous, I believe it was called.

WHITE DENIM-Fits. Doesn't knock Animal collective off the first spot as my favorite of the year, but a solid number two it is.

I'm really enjoying Dirty Projectors and Florence and the Machine. Bitte Orca seems to find the balance between avant garde and listenable which I don't think other bands that sound like them have. Lungs started off slow for me and then just took off around track 4. I was about to give up on it.