01 January 2010

The Best of 2009

I am often wary of any and all lists that tout “The Best of…” in the title, especially in terms of anything artistic. First off, the “best” in what sense: a narrow set of genres, craftsmanship, financial success, popular success, or just plain personal opinion? Secondly, isn’t the significance of anything artistic, especially music, something that only time can reveal? Legacy is not something we can predict about any of the artists (whether we covered them or not), and no one can predict the impact they will have on future generations. Early on, acts like The Cure, Depeche Mode, and My Bloody Valentine were written off as inferior, and years into their careers, they are not just bands, but rather icons and musical institutions.

When I decided to compile a list of “The Best of 2009,” I was very conscious that I did not want it to reflect just my opinions or be this "definitive" list that preaches this is what everyone must listen to. So over two evenings, Italian food, and a few insults, five of us gathered together and listed our favorites in four categories: albums, tracks, videos, and album covers, which is something that often goes ignored in the digital world. Ascribing a scoring system, with each position receiving a predetermined amount of points, we compiled the list to reflect our collective taste, and not our individual preferences. We kept conscious to a very specific scope: that which was posted onto the blog and released in 2009. And we make no pretext, this is just our collective opinion (feel free to share your own and even disagree with us).

So with no further ado l present to you our collective list of “The Best of 2009.” Perhaps somewhere on this list and / or the pages of this blog, the next iconic artists are present.

(Please note, the lists are presented in alphabetical order by album, track, or video title, not rank.)

Top Albums

Hello Seahorse!: “Bestia”



Videos: "Despues" and "Criminal"
(From MySpace Videos)


Hello Seahorse! - Después

Hello Seahorse! | MySpace Music Videos



Hello Seahorse! - Criminal (Video Oficial!)

Hello Seahorse! | MySpace Music Videos


Jason Ricci and New Blood: “Done with the Devil”



Royksopp: “Junior”



Videos: "Happy Up Here" and "This Must Be It"
(From MySpace Videos)


Röyksopp Happy Up Here'

Röyksopp | MySpace Music Videos



This Must Be It

Röyksopp | MySpace Music Videos


Little Boots: “Hands”



Videos: "New in Town," "Remedy," and "Earthquake"
(From YouTube Channel: littlebootsvideos)







Editors: “In This Light and On This Evening”



IAMX: “Kingdom of Welcome Addiction”



Videos: "Thinking of England" and "Tear Garden"
(From YouTube Channel: iamx)





The Horrors: “Primary Colours”



Video: "Who Can Say"
(From YouTube Channel: XLRecordings)



Shakespears Sister: “Songs from the Red Room”



Video: "Pulsation"
(From YouTube Channel: ShakespearsSisterTV)



Transbeauce: “Stories on the Radio”



Video: "The Stars Are Black"
(From YouTube Channel: LabelNoko)



Street Sweeper Social Club: “Street Sweeper Social Club”



Video: "100 Little Curses"
(From YouTube Channel: streetsweepermusic)



Top Tracks

Simon Scott: “The ACC”

Jason Ricci and New Blood: “Enlightenment”
(From YouTube Channel: jasonricci / live performance)



Royksopp, featuring Robyn: “The Girl and the Robot”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs; “Heads Will Roll”
(From YouTube Channel: yeahyeahyeahsmusic)



The Twilight Sad: “I Became a Prostitute”
(From YouTube Channel: Fatcatrecords)


Royksopp, featuring Robyn: “The Girl and the Robot”

Thursday: “Love Has Led Us Astray”

Trip: “Rented”
(From YouTube Channel: TripsKindgom)



Annie Lennox: “Shining Light”

Little Boots: “Symmetry”

Muse: “Undisclosed Desires”
(From MySpace Videos)


Undisclosed Desires

MUSE | MySpace Music Videos



Top Videos

Just Jack: "Doctor Doctor"
(From MySpace Videos)


Doctor, Doctor

JUST JACK>> ON TOUR OCT/NOV!!! | MySpace Music Videos



Kasabian: "Fire"
(From YouTube Channel: KasabianTour)



Placebo: "For What It's Worth"
(From MySpace Videos)


For What It's Worth

Placebo | MySpace Music Videos


Royksopp, featuring Robyn: "The Girl and the Robot"
(From MySpace Videos)


Röyksopp 'The Girl And The Robot'

Röyksopp | MySpace Music Videos


The Prodigy: "Omen"
(From MySpace Videos)


Omen

The Prodigy | MySpace Music Videos


Baddies: "One Eye Open"
(From YouTube Channel: baddiestv)



Editors: "Papilon"
(From YouTube Channel: editorsofficial)



The Black Lips: "Short Fuse"
(From YouTube Channel: blacklipstv)



Friendly Fires: "Skeleton Boy"
(From YouTube Channel: XLRecordings)



Depeche Mode: "Wrong"
(From MySpace Videos)


Depeche Mode - "Wrong" (official music video)

Depeche Mode | MySpace Music Videos


Top Covers

Elysian Fields: “Afterlife”



The Answering Machine: “Another City, Another Sorry”



Our Lady Peace: “Burn Burn”



Manic Street Preachers: “Journal for Plague Lovers”



Stereophonics: “Keep Calm and Carry On”



The Boy Least Likely To: “The Law of the Playground”



Franz Ferdinand: “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand”



The View: “Which Bitch?”



Morrissey: “Years of Refusal”



Wake the President: “You Can’t Change That Boy”



Keep up with these amazing bands at the following sites:

The Answering Machine: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Baddies: MySpace

Black Lips: homepage and MySpace

The Boy Least Likely To: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Depeche Mode: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Editors: homepage and MySpace

Elysian Fields: homepage and MySpace

Franz Ferdinand: homepage and MySpace.

Friendly Fires: homepage and MySpace

Hello Seahorse!: homepage and MySpace

The Horrors: homepage and MySpace

IAMX: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Jason Ricci and New Blood: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Just Jack: MySpace

Kasabian: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Annie Lennox: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Little Boots: homepage and MySpace

Manic Street Preachers: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Morrissey: homepage and MySpace

Muse: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Our Lady Peace: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Placebo: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

The Prodigy: homepage and MySpace

Royksopp: homepage and MySpace

Simon Scott: MySpace and Keshhhhh (Scott's label)

Shakespears Sister: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Stereophonics: homepage, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

Street Sweeper Social Club: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

Thursday: homepage and MySpace

Transbeauce: homepage and MySpace

Trip: MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter

The Twilight Sad: homepage and MySpace

The View: homepage and MySpace

Wake the President: MySpace

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: homepage, MySpace, and Facebook

6 comments:

  1. while i was reading this and going down the list my secret hopes would be that friendly fires would appear on it....AND THEY DID!!! so excited that they did show up on the list they deserve to be on it! WOOOO! <3 <3

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  2. I am open to all kinds of music and will give my opinion.well i dont listen to pop much but little boots is amazing i like both her music and her videos. i am X i have never heard of but from what is here i like there music and video. i have found new bands to listen to. i hope to expand my libary of music and i am open to listen to anything.

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  3. as i was reading this blog i reminisced on the music i listened to this year. A lot of it was mainstream music that everyone listens to, better known as "radio music". I'm happy that later into the year i broadened my listening to people like "Little boots" and "the editors" and now i see that radio music is crap compared to real artists out there. Not saying that everything on the radio is bad, just most of it isn't all its wrapped up to be. I hope that many of the artists on this list become even more famous in the U.S and get the props they deserve. =)

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  4. You know the whole mainstream thing?
    That's me right there.
    I mean, the only artists here that I knew and had in my Ipod where Royksopp, The Prodigy, Little Boots (whom I adore to bits!), and well, of course, Placebo (the best thing that had happened to me after Muse).
    But it is fact, that most mainstream stuff is really fake compared to the opposing. Mainstream is all "popstar-cookie-cutter" stuff, you know what I mean?
    And thanks for putting this up, like, I am so in love with IAMX and Editors.
    You should put up an article about how mainstream stuff affects society today, cause it like, so does...well if you haven't done so already, cause you seem to have a lot of articles up.
    Yeah.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. I am not surprised at all that Muse, Placebo, and Depeche Mode made was on this list. "Undisclosed Desires" is one my favorite singles of the past year. Never get tired of hearing that one. Royksopp "The Girl and the Robot" featuring Robyn is a great. Love her voice. That live performance was awesome. Hears a suggestion, best live performance of '09.

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